Connecticut serial entrepreneur André Swanston recently revealed a new cloud gaming venture, and announced a successful $10 million investment round for the startup.
Swanston made his name building Tru Optik, a data marketplace for streaming TV services that was sold to Transunion in 2020 in a nine-figure deal. Now his new company, PHῩND, builds on that expertise in capturing consumer data.
PHῩND is a platform that allows consumers to stream video games via a smart TV in an ad-supported, subscription-free service, with no additional gaming hardware.
Swanston has rebranded his Stamford-based company, formerly Swanston Labs, as PHῩND, and says the venture will be his sole business focus going forward. He and his wife Michelle are also engaged in philanthropy and angel investing.
Find out who else is in the 2025 Power 50
Swanston is the owner, through the Connecticut Sports Group, of CT United Football Club, a new MLS Next Pro team, which is slated to be based at a new stadium in Bridgeport, which the group is developing. A recent impact study projected that the most ambitious iteration of the $1.6 billion waterfront development anchored by the stadium could generate $3.4 billion in economic output and sustain 1,300 new permanent jobs annually until 2050.
Originally from the Bronx, Swanston moved to Connecticut to attend the Hotchkiss School, and then went on to graduate from UConn. After a brief career in wealth management, he took the plunge into entrepreneurship.