- Drivetime announced that it raised $11 million in Series A funding led by Makers Fund and launched a game called JEOPARDY! While You Drive!
Drivetime recently announced that it raised $11 million in Series A funding led by Makers Fund. And the company also announced that it launched a game called JEOPARDY! While You Drive!, available for iOS and Android. Including this round of funding, Drivetime has raised $15 million in total funding.
JEOPARDY! While You Drive! is hosted by Alex Trebek and it brings the Emmy Award-winning show into the car for the first time as an interactive voice experience. JEOPARDY! While You Drive! allows anyone who wants to feel like a contestant with an opportunity to play, completely hands-free and safely while commuting and traveling. Drivetime Premium subscribers will get a new episode every day, Monday through Friday, and can access all past episodes on demand.
“We are thrilled to work with Sony Pictures Television Games to bring JEOPARDY!, the greatest game show on the planet, to an underserved audience that desperately needs interactive entertainment the most – the 110 million commuters in North America driving to and from work by themselves every day,” said Drivetime founder & CEO Niko Vuori.
Fuel Capital, Webb Investment Network and Access Ventures have all renewed their commitment along with additional funding from the Amazon Alexa Fund and the Google Assistant Investments Program.
“Drivetime brings JEOPARDY! and Alex Trebek into a whole new part of people’s lives, turning their daily commute into a unique quiz show experience,” added Sony Pictures Entertainment VP of Games Paul Joffe. “We look forward to building on JEOPARDY!®’s mobile offerings and entering the in-car entertainment space.”
Makers Fund Founding Partner Jay Chi pointed out that Vuori, Justin Cooper and Cory Johnson have a decade-long history of working together and a proven track record in building new platforms. So he believes that this is the best team to “bring this idea to life.”
“Gaming and entertainment are among customers’ favorite use cases for Alexa, and we think those categories will only grow in popularity as Alexa is integrated into more vehicles,” explained Amazon director of worldwide corporate development and the Alexa Fund Lead Paul Bernard. “Drivetime stands out for its focus on voice-first games in the car, and we’re excited to work with them to broaden the Alexa Auto experience and help customers make the most of their time behind the wheel.”
Founded in 2018, Drivetime is considered the world’s premier company developing voice games and other interactive audio entertainment for drivers. And the company has a mission of making driving delightful through interactive audio content that commuters can play safely while they are on the road.
“Drivetime is one of the early pioneers in creating safe, stimulating entertainment for drivers in the car. More and more people are using their voice to stay productive on the road, asking the Google Assistant on Android and iOS phones to help send text messages, make calls and access entertainment hands-free. We share Drivetime’s vision, and look forward to working with their team to make the daily commute more enjoyable,” commented Google head of Google Assistant Investments Ilya Gelfenbeyn.
