Ouya Ceo Julie Uhrman announced in a blog post today that Ouya had secured $15 million in venture capital funding to meet the “greater than expected demand” for its Android based, $99 console.
“Big news! I am thrilled to share that OUYA has raised $15 million in funding from new investors. This is a really important step towards being around for the long haul. Our round was led by Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, the same firm that originally backed Electronic Arts, and includes other great investors such as Mayfield Fund, NVIDIA (who also makes the chips inside of OUYA), Shasta Ventures (who backed great hardware companies like Nest), and Occam Partners.”
Uhrman also announced a delay in the retail release of the console, from June 4 to June 25, giving them time to make more boxes for the online and brick and mortar retailers that will be selling Ouya consoles. But the early Kickstarter and Ouya.tv backers of the system have nothing to worry about, their pre orders are still on schedule to be shipped before the end of May.
The Ouya was crowd funded from the beginning, so it’s interesting that they’ve now sought out venture capital. It’s a good sign for the upstart console that there’s this level of venture capital interest. Also, the fact that sales projections show a need for them to make MORE consoles can’t be anything but good. The short delay to retail shouldn’t be much of a stumbling block for them. What remains to be seem is if they can deliver a fun, deep gaming experience and the kind of exclusives that make a console.
So, readers, who’s planning on getting an Ouya?