Tapjoy Raises $21 Million to Complete Extreme Makeover

Tapjoy, which formerly operated under the name Offerpal, has raised $21 million in capital.

Under its new identity, the San Francisco-based company is helping social and mobile games and virtual worlds make money and gain users. To do so, Tapjoy operates an alternative payment platform and a “pay-per-install” advertising network.

The round was led by Rho Ventures, with participation from all existing investors including InterWest Partners, North Bridge Venture Partners and D. E. Shaw Ventures. To date, it has raised more than $40 million.

In a release, the company said the funds will be used to grow the number of ecosystems it supports domestically and internationally. Today, it operates on iOS, Facebook and Android.

But it’s easy to see how the capital will also be used for completing a transformation it started a year ago.

Before acquiring Tapjoy, the company operated under the name Offerpal, which helped game makers, like Zynga, monetize their traffic.

However, the company took some heat after many of its offers were considered scammy. It was like the early days of ringtones, where consumers unknowingly signed up for a monthly subscription instead of buying only one. Similarly, consumers thought they were getting free tokens in a game, but ended up paying much more than they were worth.

In comparison, the new incarnation of the company is almost unrecognizable.

TechCrunch reports the company is on its third CEO since November 2009, and since then, Facebook has transitioned games and applications over from Offerpal’s currencies to Facebook Credits. It has since formed a partnership with Tapjoy’s rival Trialpay.

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