Best Gaming Companies in Santa Monica, United States
The 43 best Gaming companies in Santa Monica, United States in 2026, ranked by funding and momentum. Funding, investors, founders, valuation, tech stack and live signals. Top: Thatgamecompany.
Our analysis of 71 Gaming companies
$20.0b in tracked funding; 97% of the stack-profiled cohort runs cloud-native; funding activity peaked in 2025.
Ranked: Best Gaming companies in Santa Monica
| # | Company | Disclosed funding | Last round | Employees | Founder | Tech stack | Web popularity | Patents & IP focus | Recent signals |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Thatgamecompany Developer of PC and mobile-based games 62Growth top 26%Moat top 31%Funding top 33%Talent top 34% All 10 signals ▾Growthtop 26% Moattop 31% Fundingtop 33% Talenttop 34% Techtop 36% Innovationtop 46% Patentstop 46% Marketbottom 42% Globalbottom 37% Newsbottom 22% Growth: Headcount 47 → 73 (+55%) across vintages Moat: Editorial + unicorn rating 8/10 · IP moat: 6 patents rank vs industry peers · Fliar Intelligence Index 62/100 | $172M | 53 mo ago | 73 | Osman Masud Co-Founder & CEO | StoryblokApple iCloud MailGoogle Workspace+11 | Top 5M | 6 patents NFC-enabled product authentication for linking physical items to virtual game environments | — |
| 2 | PlayVS Provider of scholastic esports leagues for middle and high schools 64Funding top 19%Tech top 21%Moat top 31%Market top 43% All 6 signals ▾Fundingtop 19% Techtop 21% Moattop 31% Markettop 43% Growthbottom 48% Globalbottom 37% Funding: Raised $109M across 6 rounds · 6 rounds over 12 yrs (0.5/yr) Tech: 65 technologies across 6/8 capability areas · Cloud: Amazon Cloudfront, Amazon S3 rank vs industry peers · Fliar Intelligence Index 64/100 | $109M | 13 mo ago | 75 75 → 76 (+1%) | — | WordPressApple iCloud MailGoogle Workspace+32 | Top 1M | — | — |
| 3 | Cloud9 Esports player organization | $103M | 81 mo ago | 5 | Paullie Etienne Co-Founder and Board Member | Cart FunctionalityShopifySentry+40 | Top 1M | — | 1 job opening |
| 4 | Team Liquid Online eSports organization platform | $80M | 51 mo ago | — | Victor Goossens Founder & Co-CEO | Cart FunctionalityShopifyFacebook Login+34 | Top 500k | — | — |
| 5 | Cloud Imperium Games Developer of space simulation games and single-player story-driven games | $63M | 77 mo ago | 94 | — | SentryTypeScriptGraphQL+21 | Top 5M | — | — |
| 6 | Super League Provider of networks of games, monetization tools and content channels 48Funding top 20%News top 22%Product top 29%Moat top 37% All 12 signals ▾Fundingtop 20% Newstop 22% Producttop 29% Moattop 37% Talenttop 41% Techtop 42% Markettop 45% Patentstop 48% Innovationbottom 47% Growthbottom 45% Globalbottom 39% Fin. healthbottom 35% Funding: Raised $34.6M across 15 rounds · 15 rounds over 12 yrs (1.2/yr) News: 11 BI events in 12 mo (of 49 tracked, 10 types) · +175% YoY rank vs industry peers · Fliar Intelligence Index 48/100 | $35M | 10 mo ago | 101 101 → 86 (-15%) | John Miller Co-Founder | Wix eCommerceWixSentry+18 | Top 10M | 16 patents Real-time cloud gaming with synchronized media streams and adaptive multi-user view control | 1 partnership |
| 7 | Fan AI AI based platform offering sponsorship marketing solutions | $17M | 57 mo ago | 11 | Victor Genin Co-Founder & CTO | Cart FunctionalitySquarespace CommerceSquarespace+13 | Top 50M | 171 patents IL-2 biologic therapeutics and AI-driven real-time surgical navigation systems | — |
| 8 | Mobalytics Provider of a platform offering game analysis and improvement tools | $14M | 73 mo ago | 68 | Amine Issa Founder and Warchief of Science | WordPressMySQLPHP+26 | Top 10k | — | — |
| 9 | Gif Your Game GIF creation software for gamers | $10M | 87 mo ago | 3 | — | Node.jsYouTubeVideoJS+27 | Top 5M | — | — |
| 10 | Popdog Technology and service provider for esports gaming industry | $9M | 92 mo ago | 45 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 11 | esports one Esports One is the first real-time fantasy platform that makes watching esports competitive. | $7M | 68 mo ago | 33 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 12 | Esports One Platform for virtual esports events, skill-based wagering, and token rewards | $7M | 68 mo ago | — | Sharon Winter Co-Founder | — | — | — | — |
| 13 | Dust Labs Platform building software that helps NFT communities bring more value to their holders | $7M | 47 mo ago | 8 | Frank Degods Co-Founder | — | — | 37 patents Industrial particulate monitoring and valve performance diagnostics for process control | — |
| 14 | Sprocket Games Developer of multi-platform social games | $5M | 47 mo ago | 9 | Nicolas Tittley Co-Founder | WebflowjQueryHSTS+3 | Top 50M | — | — |
| 15 | First Contactent VR game development studio focusing on VR experiences | $5M | 111 mo ago | 44 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 16 | Network Next CDN solution to accelerates game traffic | $4M | 91 mo ago | 5 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 17 | Blockus Developer of blockchain games | $4M | 29 mo ago | 3 | Jess Zhang Co-Founder & CEO | — | — | — | — |
| 18 | PLLAY Esports gaming platform for earning cash rewards | $4M | 64 mo ago | 8 | Christine Krzyzanowski Co-Founder | CMO | — | — | 6 patents Real-time video streaming quality analysis and optimization systems | — |
| 19 | M80 Provider of an esports and technology platform for players and gaming fans | $3M | 38 mo ago | 8 | Nate Schanker Co-Founder | Vue.jsAmazon Web Servicescore-js+7 | Top 10M | — | — |
| 20 | Playsino Social casino games across devices, offering diverse gaming experiences and languages | $2M | 172 mo ago | 6 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 21 | FGL Platform for game developers to find publishers | $1M | 157 mo ago | 22 | — | Google WorkspaceGoogle AnalyticsCloudflare Browser Insights+3 | Top 5M | — | — |
| 22 | IKON Online competitive gaming platform | $110K | 115 mo ago | — | Jonathan Weinberg Founder & CEO | — | — | — | — |
Top 12 Gaming companies in Santa Monica
#1
Series C · Santa Monica, California · founded 2012 · 75 employees$108.8Mraised▾
Provider of scholastic esports leagues for middle and high schools. It organizes and manages competitive video game leagues, offering season-long competitions at regional and state levels. The platform handles scheduling, matchmaking, and record-keeping for participating schools. It also provides resources and support for coaches and students, fostering a positive and inclusive environment for esports participation. The leagues feature various popular video game titles.
- Jul 2025Series C$6.2M
- Nov 2020Series C$10.5M
- Sep 2019Series C$50M
- Nov 2018Series B$30.5M
#2
Public · Santa Monica, California · founded 2014 · 101 employees$34.6Mraised▾
Provider of networks of games, monetization tools and content channels. The company owns and operates game worlds and provides a launchpad for brands and creators to accelerate success in the gaming metaverse.
- Oct 2025Post IPO$20M
- Jul 2025Post IPO$4.5M
- Sep 2024Post IPO$1.1M
- Jun 2024Post IPO$1.8M
#3
Series D · Santa Monica, California · founded 2006 · 73 employees$172.5Mraised▾
Developer of PC and mobile-based games. The company specializes in the development of role-playing, adventure, and action games including "flow", "Journey", "Flower", and "Cloud". Currently working on a new game that will also be self-published. The games are available on the PlayStation Store, PC, and Mobile platforms.
- Mar 2022Series D$160M
- May 2014Series B$7M
- Jun 2012Series A$5.5M
#4
Series B · Santa Monica, California · founded 2000$80Mraised▾
Online eSports organization platform. The company has developed an online platform that enables eSports gaming community to play esports games, makes collective teams, communicate, and more. The platform also provides news and has stores and quests for fans.
#5
Series B · Santa Monica, California · founded 2013 · 5 employees$102.5Mraised▾
Esports player organization. It has multiple eSports teams for games like League of Legends, CSGO, Hearthstone, PUBG, Vainglory, and Overwatch. Also operates a merchandising store.
- Nov 2019Series B$1.3M
- Oct 2018Series B$53.6M
- Oct 2017Series A$25M
- Sep 2017Series A$19.7M
#6
Seed · Santa Monica, California · founded 2022 · 3 employees$4Mraised▾
Developer of blockchain games. It is a platform for gaming studios to streamline the process of onboarding. It enables game studios to onboard the players and build on-chain gaming features with a complete set of NFT management APIs and can manage the lifecycle of in-game NFT assets.
- Mar 2024Seed$4M
#7
Series C · Santa Monica, California · founded 2012 · 94 employees$63.2Mraised▾
Developer of space simulation games and single-player story-driven games. The business focuses on creating immersive gaming experiences with detailed visuals. It develops titles by involving players in the development process. The business aims to deliver experiences outside the established publisher system.
- Mar 2020Series C$17.2M
- Dec 2018Series C$46M
#8
Series A · Santa Monica, California · founded 2016 · 11 employees$17.3Mraised▾
AI based platform offering sponsorship marketing solutions. It provides a platform that offers solutions such as marketing performance optimization, sponsorship and marketing strategies management, etc. It also assists users in analyzing the sales impact of the sponsorship investments.
- Nov 2021Series A$3M
- Nov 2019Series A$8M
- Feb 2018Series A$4.5M
- Oct 2017Seed$1.8M
#9
Seed · Santa Monica, California · founded 2018 · 8 employees$7Mraised▾
Platform building software that helps NFT communities bring more value to their holders. The platform offers white-label solutions for launching or developing NFT features.
- Sep 2022Seed$7M
#10
Seed · Santa Monica, California · founded 2022 · 8 employees$3Mraised▾
Provider of an esports and technology platform for players and gaming fans. It specializes in professional esports, gaming performance training, digital goods, partnerships, and events. The organization features a team of skilled athletes competing in various esports titles and offers digital products and services for fans and gamers. It has professional esports teams across competitive games like Valorant, Rocket League, and more.
- May 2023Seed$3M
#11
Acquired · Santa Monica, California · founded 2016 · 68 employees$13.8Mraised▾
Provider of a platform offering game analysis and improvement tools. The platform provides personalized recommendations based on skill level and playstyle. It analyzes games to identify areas needing improvement. The platform offers tools to optimize game plans and provides in-game insights. It also allows users to analyze matches to improve strengths and weaknesses.
- Jul 2020Series A$11.2M
- May 2020Seed—
- 2018Seed—
- Nov 2016Seed$2.6M
#12
Series A · Santa Monica, California · founded 2022 · 9 employees$5Mraised▾
Developer of multi-platform social games. The company focuses on the development of a cross-platform, social adventure game where players can play with friends and others.
- Aug 2022Series A$5M
Funding & investor landscape
Notable founders
Market landscape — 10 sub-themes by coverage
Share of Gaming coverage by sub-theme.
Regulatory-risk over time rising
Funding & growth over time
funding rising · growth rising
How research on Gaming Technology is moving in the United States
A read on the academic research around Gaming Technology — which themes are gaining ground, the institutions and researchers driving them, and how the tone is shifting. Based on 670 United States-affiliated papers.
- Carnegie Mellon University23
- Nvidia20
- University of Utah16
- University of California, Davis16
- Cornell University15
- Image-based modeling and rendering7→15
- Alternate frame rendering2→10
- Gaussian4→9
- Augmented reality2→7
- 3D rendering9→13
- Context (archaeology)3→4
- Rendering (computer graphics)25
- Computer graphics (images)19
- Game engine10
- Real-time rendering9
- Human–computer interaction8
Where gaming tech is researched across United States
Location clusters by institution affiliation — each city's volume, stance tone, and a quick read on its hot topic, what's advancing, the opening opportunity, and the main concern.
Who's filing gaming tech patents in the United States
United States gaming tech patent filing is accelerating — 406 filings from 157 assignees (2016–2025), led by Sony Interactive Entertainment, SONY Interactive Entertainment A, Microsoft; annual filings 10→50.
- Sony Interactive Entertainment98
- SONY Interactive Entertainment A50
- Microsoft41
- Google36
- Intel35
- Tencent America21
- Nvidia18
- Electronic ARTS14
Common questions
Rohit lives in the feed. He covers what's moving right now — the funding rounds, launches and shifts breaking across the trade press — and ties them back to where the sector is heading.