Smith & Tinker

Bellevue, WA-based toy and game start-up Smith & Tinker received $29 million in funding from a group of tech and game investors including Paul Allen's Vulcan Capital, Alsop Louie Partners, Foundry Group, Leo Capital Holdings and DCM, which led the round. One of the company's first creations is Nanovor, a hybrid targeted at boys which links online and offline play. A proprietary handheld which extends the play experience offline, dubbed the Nanoscope, is due to be released starting in October. Smith & Tinker plans to build Nanovor into a full scope entertainment franchise, including weekly animated webisodes, comics, a graphic novel, field guide.