Former Blizzard Employees Get iFund Money

Booyah, a start-up founded by three former Blizzard Entertainment veterans, has been able to raise $4.5 million in Series A financing from Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers (KPCB) iFund. The three co-founders are Keith Lee, Sam Christiansen, and Brian Morrisroe.  Keith Lee is Booyah's CEO, and former lead director for Blizzard Entertainment's Diablo 3. Sam Christiansen is Booyah's chief technology officer, and former senior programmer for Diable 3.  Finally, Brian Morrisroe is Booyah's chief creative officer, and former art director for Diable 3.  That is a lot of talent being taken away from PC game development and placed into the new and exciting world of iPhone software development. The $100 million iFund was set up in March 2008 by KPCB to be invested in companies with "market-changing ideas" for the iPhone and iPod touch.

“We were immediately compelled by the promise of Booyah and the background of the founders,” said Matt Murphy, partner, KPCB. “The iFund was created to help build the most promising and innovative businesses that utilize the discrete capabilities of the iPhone and iPod touch. Booyah is a terrific example.”

KPCB is obviously excited to be helping out the Booyah team, but what it is that everyone is so excited about remains very unclear.

Booyah is creating a playful life companion that combines the immersive experiences that draw consumers to massively multi-player online games, the interconnectedness of social media, and the power of the iPhone and iPod touch.

You can get in on the action, however, by heading over to their site and signing up for Booyah's beta program.  The beta program is open to all iPhone and iPod touch users. Does any one want to venture a guess as to what exactly Booyah is creating?  You would think it would be a game considering the team's background, but it is hard to tell from their deliberately vague description.

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