Nex Raises Over $150 Million to Take Nex Playground Business Global

Breakout active play company accelerates international expansion as Jeff Shouger joins as CFO and Shouger and gaming industry veteran Bing Gordon join its Board of Directors

SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nex, the company behind Nex Playground, the active play system that gets families moving together, today announced more than $150 million in new equity and debt financing to support the company’s expansion. Following continued U.S. consumer growth, Nex is expanding internationally, broadening its retail distribution and growing its content ecosystem with major gaming and entertainment partners. Nex also announced the appointment of leading gaming and technology finance executive Jeff Shouger as Chief Financial Officer, with Shouger and gaming and technology industry veteran Bing Gordon both joining the company’s Board of Directors. Over more than two decades, Shouger has helped lead the finance organizations of some of gaming and technology’s most prominent companies through major periods of growth and transformation, experience he will bring to Nex as it scales. Gordon has played a defining role in the evolution of the gaming industry, helping build and advise some of the most influential companies across gaming and technology.

“Families have timeless needs: to move, grow, connect, and have fun. The response to Nex Playground has shown us that active play can serve those needs at a meaningful scale,” said David Lee, co-founder and CEO of Nex. “We are building Nex to be a 100-year company. This investment gives us the resources to bring active play to millions more families around the world, and Jeff and Bing bring extraordinary experience building enduring gaming and technology companies. I’m thrilled to have them with us for this next chapter.”

Building on Strong Consumer Momentum
Consumer interest in Nex Playground has translated into more than 1 million units sold, with the system now distributed across more than 7,000 U.S. retail locations, including Costco, Sam’s Club, Target, Walmart, and Best Buy.

That momentum extends beyond hardware. Nex’s subscriber base has grown sevenfold over the past 18 months and is approaching 1 million subscribers, a milestone the company expects to surpass by year-end. The growing subscriber base is building a thriving community of families, turning a one-time console purchase into an ongoing relationship, with a steady stream of new content that keeps them coming back.

Growing the Nex Playground Ecosystem
The platform now offers more than 60 games, including globally recognized franchises and characters such as Bluey, Barbie, Kung Fu Panda and Peppa Pig, with experiences spanning music, sports, fitness, party, and learning. The slate will continue to grow this fall and holiday season with NFL Flag, Dude Perfect Trickshot Challenge, PAC-MAN™ with Bandai Namco Entertainment, and more.

The growth of the Nex Playground ecosystem is also attracting established game developers looking to bring their experience to the platform. Freefall Racers, originally created for Xbox Kinect, was revamped by its original developer, Smoking Gun Interactive, for Nex Playground. In its first month, it reached over 150,000 families and became the quickest externally developed game to surpass an hour of average playtime. Nex is selective about its developer partnerships, prioritizing experiences that fit its multi-generational audience and meet its standards for accessibility, shared play, engagement and trust and safety.

Nex is also expanding how families can play together. The company plans to introduce Connected Play, allowing families to play together across households and distances. At the same time, Nex is growing its global reach, with Europe and Asia as key areas of focus. Following its expansion into Canada, the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland, Germany will follow later this year, with Japan and Korea planned for 2027. Additional markets across Europe and Asia will follow as Nex continues to build its international presence, with Connected Play ultimately helping connect families around the world.

Strengthening Nex for Continued Scale
The financing comes as investment across gaming and interactive entertainment has become increasingly selective, underscoring Nex’s ability to attract meaningful late-stage capital alongside sustained consumer growth.

This round of financing includes a Series E led by Baillie Gifford and BAI Capital, with participation from NBA Investments, Logitech, Medici Capital Partners, and the Raine Group, alongside a new credit facility with JPMorgan.

“The gaming industry is one of constant reinvention, and the few companies that thrive over the long term are those that never lose sight of their core purpose: to delight consumers. Through active play, Nex is showing that the family room can once again become a place of laughter, entertainment and togetherness,” said Alexander Nicolier, a private companies investor at Baillie Gifford. “The console makes it remarkably easy for families to get up and moving, while a growing library of games available through subscription gives Nex the opportunity to build a lasting relationship with them. As long-term investors, that combination is particularly exciting: we are backing a company that can continue to delight its customers while compounding value over many years. That is rare in gaming. We are delighted to lead this round alongside BAI and look forward to supporting David Lee and his team as they pursue their ambitious global vision.”

“Nex Playground is creating a new category of family entertainment that transforms passive screen time into active play the whole family can enjoy together,” said Annabelle Long, Founding and Managing Partner of BAI Capital. “Its success also demonstrates the scalability of a model that combines proprietary AI-powered motion technology and hardware with compelling content and recurring subscriptions.”

The financing is complemented by the addition of Shouger to Nex’s leadership team, with Shouger and Gordon also joining the company’s Board of Directors. Shouger most recently served as CFO of Niantic, where he led multiple capital raises and helped oversee the sale of the company’s games business to Scopely. Previously, he held senior finance leadership roles at Zynga, helping guide the company through its IPO and significant growth. Gordon was an early executive at Electronic Arts and later served as its Chief Creative Officer, helping shape the company into one of the world’s leading interactive entertainment businesses. He subsequently joined Kleiner Perkins, where he has spent nearly two decades investing in and advising consumer technology and gaming companies, and previously served for nearly 15 years on Amazon’s Board of Directors.

“Nex has reached an exciting point in its evolution, with strong consumer adoption, a growing content ecosystem of guilt-free content that is fun, active and good for families, and significant opportunity still ahead,” said Shouger. “I’ve spent much of my career helping gaming and technology companies navigate periods of growth and scale, and I’m excited to work with David and the team to build an enduring global business.”

Nex is focused on a part of the gaming market that has not consistently been built for: families playing together. As Nex grows, the company will continue investing in content, technology and new ways for families to play together, while keeping the Nex Playground experience active, shared and trusted.

To learn more, visit nexplayground.com or follow the company on Instagram and Facebook.

Advisors
The Raine Group served as exclusive financial advisor to Nex in connection with the financing. Wilson Sonsini and Cooley served as legal counsel to Nex.

About Nex
Nex is on a mission to connect families and friends through active play. Created by parents for parents, Nex combines technology and play to deliver fun, social, and interactive experiences powered by natural body motion. Its award-winning active play system, Nex Playground, is the only controller-free console built specifically for kids and families with safety and privacy at the core of its design: motion-tracking data and processing stay local to the device, and every system includes a built-in camera cover. Nex Playground also aligns with GDPR requirements, earning PEGI 3 age ratings. Nex Playground is kidSAFE+ COPPA certified and a member of the Family Online Safety Institute (FOSI).

Nex Playground with Play Pass features a growing library of 60+ active games, from sports to dance, fitness and learning experiences, including Nex Originals and collaborations with partners such as SEGA, Bandai Namco, Paramount, and NBCUniversal. Nex has been recognized by Fast Company’s Most Innovative Companies, TIME’s Best Inventions, and Parents’ Best Entertainment System for Families, and has earned Red Dot, IDEA, and Core77 international design awards.