MONTREAL--(Marketwire - Aug 30, 2011) - Woozworld (http://www.woozworld.com), a massive multiplayer user-generated social game for tweens (ages nine - 14), announced today that it has raised $6 million in new funding. In addition, Bernard Gershon, former General Manager and Senior Vice President of Disney, has joined its board of advisors.
"Since Woozworld first launched, our main objective has been to make it the number-one safe destination where tweens can creatively feed their imagination and innate desire to behave like young adults," said Woozworld President and CEO Eric Brassard. "The new funds will allow us to enhance Woozworld's already highly successful formula both online and, moving forward, on the mobile."
Woozworld received $6 million in funding from Telesystem and iNovia Capital alongside industry angels. With this new round, Woozworld intends to continue developing and promoting its online user-generated social platform, where tween users build entire worlds to creatively engage with their peers, build businesses or set up restaurants, hotels and games as they choose, as well as focus on its upcoming mobile efforts.
"We've been extremely pleased to see the progress that Woozworld has made in the last year," said Francois-Charles Sirois, President of Telesystem. "Woozworld is already considered a success but we believe with Woozworld's phenomenal growth and their upcoming features, technology and offerings, Woozworld will surely become the leader in the tween virtual world industry."
Below are some impressive statistics that prove Woozworld is relevantly and meaningfully engaging with the hard-to-reach tween audience, proving it knows what tweens want:
- Woozworld has more than seven million avatars
- More than 14 million virtual spaces have been created in 18 months
- Woozworld receives more than 15 million monthly unique visitors from over 180 countries, with the largest group coming from the USA
- Woozworld gets more than 76 million monthly page views
- Woozworld's user base has more than tripled over the last six months
- Woozens (Woozworld active users) play more than 70 minutes a day
- Woozworld increased its revenues by over 30 percent per month for each of the last 12 months
To help ensure its continued success, Bernard Gershon has joined the board of advisors. Considered to be the pioneer of streaming media, Gershon is currently the President of GershonMedia, a global digital media strategy practice. He was also the Senior Vice President and General Manager, Corporate Strategy, Business Development and Technology, at The Walt Disney Company. Gershon was instrumental in delivering Disney/ABC content, including "High School Musical," "Desperate Housewives" and "Lost," to the Sprint mobile video service. Previously, Mr. Gershon was Vice President of ABC News Radio, responsible for all information programming produced for the ABC Radio Networks' 140 million weekly listeners.
Woozworld continues to dedicate itself to creating a safe gaming environment that tweens can enjoy and parents can trust. Targeted for children ages nine to 14, Woozworld provides an engaging and interactive experience by allowing members to create their own world where they can fashion their own characters, make new Woozworld friends, and conduct virtual businesses. All personal information is protected, and Woozworld strictly conforms to the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act.
For more information, please visit:
- Company site: http://www.woozworld.com
- Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/woozworld
- Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/woozworld
About Woozworld
Woozworld Inc. is a developer and operator of virtual worlds. Its flagship product, Woozworld.com, is an innovative global web 2.0 virtual world for tweens that is built and led by its users. Its unique environment evolves continuously and allows users to create space, run activities and do business, among countless other things. The company has a highly experienced team with exceptional credentials in producing casual games, MMOG and virtual worlds for kids, as well as in marketing and business intelligence.
About iNovia Capital
iNovia partners with exceptional entrepreneurs to build successful companies in high growth sectors. The team is comprised of entrepreneurs and sector experts focused on Mobile, Internet and Digital Media. iNovia has $165M under management across two seed and early stage funds. For more information, visit www.inoviacapital.com or follow iNovia on Twitter at www.twitter.com/iNovia.
About Telesystem
Telesystem is a Canadian private capital corporation that owns, builds and manages innovative businesses around the world. Telesystem leverages technology and entrepreneurship to grow sustainable businesses in diverse and promising fields, such as health and environment, media and entertainment, Internet and software, and industrial innovations. For more information, please visit www.telesystem.ca.