Heyzap, the Y Combinator startup that’s looking to become a “YouTube For Flash Games“, has closed a seed funding round led by Union Square Ventures, with independent investors Naval Ravikant (Hitforge) and Joshua Schachter (delicious) also participating. The exact size of the round was not disclosed, but it was “above $500k and less than $1 million”.
Rather than focus on building a portal, Heyzap offers a widget that includes a catalog of 12,000 games that site owners can quickly integrate into their sites. A major part of the company’s strategy lies in partnering with major online publishers to embed the widget, and it sounds like they’re seeing some success – Current features it in the site’s gaming section, and Cooliris is a partner as well. Heyzap generates revenue through advertising embedded in the widgets (most of which is served by Mochi Media). Heyzap also recently launched an API that allows other sites to present games outside of the widget.
At this point the company is operating with a very small team, with founders Jude Gomila and Immad Akhund remaining the sole employees. Akhund says that Heyzap plans to use the funding to expand.
For a taste of the kind of games HeyZap offers, check out the widget below.
heyzap.com – embed games
Congrats on the funding. A good sign at current times.
congrats jude and immad! your big yellow button works well.
Heyzap is an awesome site. I can waste hours on these games. Well deserved!
great work, love the app
Congratulations guys! Heyzap is awesome.
I can see where this idea is going, and it’s going high.
Keep up the good work!
Congratulations! Your hard work has definitely paid off
sweet!
looking forward to seeing how they will expand their platform
I’m also an employee of Y Combinator: Great job guys! I absolutely love the product. It’s awesome n stuff. You guys are really swell. And goooood looking.
And the genius part was hijacking YouTube’s business model.
Does anyone have an idea of:
1) A rough figured for the valuation these guys received and
2) How much dilution was likely experienced?
I’m asking b/c I’m going through a similar funding experience and have heard a wide range of numbers.
Cheers!
Awesome work Immad and Jude, looking forward to a mobile version!
congrats guys, you’re doing an awesome job!
Hi Jason
we are thrilled to be working with Jude and Immad and their team. our experience working with other Y Combinator companies (either as an investor or friend) has been great and we are excited to be doing more of that too.
would you mind giving USV some link love in the post too?
here’s our post on Hey Zap
http://www.unio.../05/heyzap.html
fred
Jude, you are a star! Awesome! Definitely getting you a pint for this the next time you are back in Blighty.
Well done Lads!
Congrats. Who would have guessed ;D
Congrats guys, that is awesome news. Looking forward to hearing your experiences & insights when back in London!
Congrats well deserved! Nobody is scrappier. This is will be a good one to watch.
Kongregate anyone?
Kudos to the Heyzap team for a great app!
We use the widget on our site, http://www.playtiva.com, to supplement our original, story-based, multiplayer games. It’s a great way to keep visitors engaged with our site while they wait for our next release.
Congrats to Heyzap! Always great to see these small companies (only 2 employees?!) get funding.
Congrats!
*** HeyGames.com is a nice brand, you guys figure it out. ***
Great idea, instant access to games wherever users are is the wave of the future!
Cool video I just published about Heyzap…nice demo and personalities: http://vator.tv/n/8b2