Loading organizations...
Clockwork Labs is a San Francisco-based video game developer that creates large-scale community sandbox multiplayer games and specialized backend database platforms. The studio applies distributed systems expertise to develop BitCraft, a massively multiplayer online role-playing game, alongside SpacetimeDB, a proprietary relational database technology that powers the game and is available to external developers. The organization currently operates with approximately 40 employees and has attracted an estimated 40,000 users to its gaming ecosystem while generating around $1 million in annual revenue. To support its ongoing software engineering and pre-alpha testing initiatives, Clockwork Labs has secured $22 million in total venture funding. This capitalization includes backing from industry investors such as Andreessen Horowitz, Supercell, Unity co-founder David Helgason, and Roblox founder David Baszucki. The enterprise was founded in 2019 by Tyler Cloutier and Alessandro Asoni.
Clockwork Labs has raised $4.0M across 1 funding round.
Clockwork Labs has raised $4.0M in total across 1 funding round.
Clockwork Labs has raised $4.0M in total across 1 funding round.
Clockwork Labs's investors include 1Up Ventures, Arbor Ventures, Benchmark, Bessemer Venture Partners, Citi Ventures, Crowberry Capital, Dune Ventures, Felix Capital, foobar.vc, Galaxy Interactive, L Catterton Growth, March Capital.
Clockwork Labs has raised $4.0M across 1 funding round. Most recently, it raised $4.0M Series A in August 2021.
| Date | Round | Lead Investors | Other Investors | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 1, 2021 | $4M Series A | — | 1UP Ventures, Arbor Ventures, Benchmark, Bessemer Venture Partners, Citi Ventures, Crowberry Capital, Dune Ventures, Felix Capital, Foobar.vc, Galaxy Interactive, L Catterton, March Capital, NewView Capital, PS Investments, Scale Venture Partners, Sequoia Capital, Sequoia Capital Israel, Summit Partners, DAN Raveh, Eden Chen, Jaroslav Beck | Announced |
Clockwork Labs is a San Francisco-based game studio founded in 2019 that develops massively-multiplayer "societal games" emphasizing social interaction, cooperation, and creative collaboration over combat.[1][2][5] The studio builds expansive virtual worlds, such as the survival-crafting MMORPG *BitCraft: Age of Automata*, where players rebuild civilizations, personalize land, and engage in community-driven experiences, potentially integrating crypto rewards like Hex coins.[1][3] It serves gamers seeking meaningful multiplayer connections and has raised $26.3M in funding, including a $22M round two years ago, backed by investors like Supercell, Firstminute Capital, and angels from Unity and EVE Online.[1][2]
The studio targets the gaming industry with sandbox MMORPGs that blend engineering challenges in distributed systems with artistic world-building, attracting talent from Ubisoft and Kakao.[2][4] Its growth includes early funding like $4.3M for an unannounced community sandbox MMO and recent trailers for *BitCraft*, signaling momentum in a remote, flat-team structure.[3][4][5]
Clockwork Labs emerged in 2019 (with some sources noting 2017) as a venture-backed studio founded by industry veterans, including Alessandro Asoni (Founder) and Carter Minshull (Lead Game Designer), focused on rekindling the social essence of MMOs.[1][2][3] The team drew from experience in large-scale distributed systems, art, and engineering, inspired by games that forge lasting friendships through shared impossible experiences like farming or world-conquering.[2] Backed initially by Supercell and others, it raised $4.3M early for a community sandbox project, evolving from unannounced MMOs to *BitCraft*'s 2024 reveal.[2][3][4]
Pivotal moments include attracting angels like CCP Games' CEO and Unity's founder, plus rapid team growth with Ubisoft alumni, all united by a vision for non-combat societal games in massive sandbox worlds.[2] Headquartered at 350 Townsend Street in San Francisco, the fully remote studio prioritizes small, autonomous teams over hierarchy.[1][4][5]
Clockwork Labs rides the wave of sandbox MMORPGs and social gaming resurgence, capitalizing on post-pandemic demand for cooperative virtual worlds amid declining solo PvP titles.[2][3] Timing aligns with advances in distributed systems and cloud tech (e.g., via Google, DigitalOcean stacks), enabling seamless global multiplayer without lag in massive environments.[2][4] Market forces like blockchain gaming hype (crypto rewards) and remote work trends favor its model, as players seek meaningful connections in editable, persistent universes.[1][5]
It influences the ecosystem by pioneering "societal games" that bridge art, engineering, and community, inspiring studios to prioritize collaboration—much like EVE Online's legacy—while its investor network amplifies indie MMO viability in a Supercell-backed landscape.[2]
Clockwork Labs is poised to launch *BitCraft* fully, leveraging 2024 trailers and $26M+ funding to capture the MMO market's cooperative niche amid AI-enhanced worlds and Web3 integration.[1][3] Trends like procedural generation, cross-platform play, and metaverse fatigue will shape it, pushing emphasis on human-driven societies over automated content. Its influence may grow by setting standards for player-owned economies and flat orgs, potentially spawning spinouts or acquisitions, solidifying its role as a social gaming innovator from San Francisco's startup hub.[2][5] This societal pivot redefines multiplayer fun, echoing the studio's origins in forging global friendships.
