Congratulations to Our Friends at Supercell!

On October 15, 2013, our friends at Supercell, led by co-founders Ilkka Paananen and Mikko Kodisoja, announced that the company received a $1.5 billion strategic investment from SoftBank and GungHo. We are thrilled to be part of such a powerful statement by three of the world’s most visionary companies as they join forces in creating the first truly global games company.

In IVP’s 30+ year history, we have found that transformational companies are invariably led by exceptionally passionate founders who are unafraid to defy conventional wisdom as they build their businesses. That vision is certainly true at Supercell as Mikko and Ilkka’s commitment to an open, nimble, egalitarian approach to company culture and game development has enabled Supercell to truly delight their customers while thriving in an unforgiving, fiercely competitive and fast moving global gaming market. In a short period of time from their headquarters in Helsinki and office in San Francisco, the small (but growing) team of incredibly dedicated and talented Supercell employees has created Clash of Clans and Hay Day, two of the most successful mobile games ever. In a testament to the broad appeal of these games to players around the world, Supercell has shot to the top of the Apple App Store’s highest grossing charts in over 100 markets. And of course, not content to rest on their considerable laurels, just this month Supercell has expanded to offer its games via Google Play, opening up the opportunity to entertain and delight hundreds of millions of Android game players globally.

We are honored and grateful to have had the opportunity to work with such an incredible group of founders and employees at Supercell up through this point. This announcement marks the beginning of a new chapter in the history of Supercell. Supercell will continue to be led by Ilkka and Mikko while operating independently in Helsinki but will now also benefit from the considerable strategic resources of both SoftBank and GungHo. Now with such a promising global clan spanning across three continents, we are more excited than ever to continue our relationship with Supercell in the years ahead.