SCVNGR raises $4 million

Boston-based startup gets funded by Google Ventures and Highland Capital Partners

SCVNGR, a startup which builds a geo-gaming platform, has raised $4 million according to its company blog.  Investors include Google Ventures and return backer Highland Capital Partners.  The company has raised a total of $4.79 million including a Seed investment of $35k from DreamIt Ventures.  

The company has built a platform that lets individuals or institutions build location-based interactive mobile games.  Scvngr says these can be played on any cell-phone through iPhone or Android application, as well as playing via SMS.  The platform allows for these games to be scaled up and down depending on the type of phone being used.  So if you're using a smartphone, Scvngr lets users interact with audio, video, images and interactive maps, if you're using a phone not capable of rich media, you can still play via SMS.

The first thing I thought of when I read about Scvngr was it was simply another geo-location social network like Foursquare or Loopt.  It's actually quite different: instead of focusing on where friends are, Scvngr aims to turn the physical world into a sort of virtual game-board with a focus on letting users explore in a new way.  The startup said it focuses its business on mainly on the enterprise market. 

At the same time, the company would like to focus on the consumer side of the geo-location industry.  Scvngr's CEO Seth Priebatsch told me, "expect some really exciting evolutions on the consumer side soon." 

Some use cases for Scvngr at the moment include high-tech scavenger hunts run by universities.  These can be used to help students get to know their campus.  The platform can also be used for interactive mobile tours through museums.

The company has already amassed quite a list of clients including universities like Yale, Duke, and Purdue, museums including Longyear Museum and Texas Maritime, to even cities including Rochester, NY.  

Boston based Scvngr said in a blog post it would use the funds to "grow the company bigger, better and faster."  It also told us it plans to do some major hiring.  Currently the startup has 20 employees and plans to double that to 40, soon.  If you're looking for a job here's the full list of needed people.