Xfire, a US-based gaming communication company backed by chipmaker Intel’s corporate venturing unit, hired Malcolm Casselle as chief executive on Monday last week.
The company simultaneously announced a joint venture with China Youth Goyor Technology, which will bring an enhanced suite of Xfire’s services to the China market, Xfire said.
Xfire secured $4m in investment from Intel Capital last year, and used the cash to split from gaming platform Titan Gaming, which acquired Xfire in 2010.
Titan acquired Xfire in August 2010 from media company Viacom, which itself paid $102m for Xfire in 2006. The move coincided with many of Xfire’s original development team leaving the company.
Casselle was a key executive for Groupon’s joint venture in China with Tencent, a founder of NetNoir, which was backed by AOL, and PCCW, a Hong Kong-based provider of telecommunications services.