Paul Allen leads $29 million investment in game maker Smith & Tinker

TechFlash reports: It's no secret that Smith & Tinker -- an innovative new gaming company that last month introduced Nanovor -- has some heavy duty financial support behind it.

We've reported on the company's backing from Paul Allen's Vulcan Ventures, Foundry Group, Alsop Louie Partners and others. But until today, it was unknown just how much the Seattle company had raised.

Turns out it is a whopper -- which isn't a surprise given the very ambitious nature of the project. The company disclosed that it has raised $29 million, with the latest portion of the funding coming in last month in a deal led by DCM.

We know where some of that money will go. Earlier this month, Smith & Tinker co-founder and president Joe Lawandus told TechFlash that they plan to spend $4 million by the end of this year to advertise Nanovor-- a new online battle game that also incorporates a $49.99 physical toy known as a Nanoscope.

The company has been working in secrecy for about two years, but is just now starting to take the covers off the project which is targeted at seven-to-12-year-old boys.

“With the release of Nanovor, we have put a stake in the ground as the first company to merge the best of a game studio, entertainment shop and toy company all under one roof, and with the sole mission of reinventing play for today’s connected kids,” said co-founder Jordan Weisman in a statement.

Smith & Tinker has lined up support from some pretty big names in the tech business, including Gilman Louie -- the former chairman of video game pioneer Spectrum Holobyte and a former board member at Wizards of the Coast -- and Foundry Group’s Ryan McIntyre -- the co-founder of Excite.

Others involved include Leo Capital Holdings' Randy Rissman -- who founded Tiger Electronics, creator of the hit toy Furby, and Jim Whims, the co-founder of Worlds of Wonder, which brought the animatronic plush toy Teddy Ruxpin to market.