PHȲND is getting closer to launch, and the company just added a key piece to its engineering team. Luke Waters has joined the free, ad-supported smart TV cloud gaming platform as VP of Engineering.
PHȲND’s New VP of Engineering Comes From Platform-Scale Work
Waters brings a background in building and scaling data platforms from the ground up. He spent over two years at USAFacts as Head of Data Engineering, where he led a team of 12 engineers and rebuilt the company’s core data platform for speed and reliability.
Before that, he held engineering leadership roles at KenSci, working on healthcare AI and enterprise software, and spent nearly four years at Microsoft shipping Entity Framework and building distributed cloud services.
A Platform That Has Been Moving Fast
PHȲND’s pitch is straightforward: no console, no subscription, no downloads. You pick a game and play it straight from your smart TV, supported by ads. That vision has been picking up real speed. The platform secured a $10 million seed round earlier in 2025, backed by Wellington Management and Bessemer Venture Partners, and has since locked in distribution deals with both Samsung and LG. PHȲND confirmed it’ll be part of LG’s Gaming Portal in 2026, placing it alongside Xbox Cloud Gaming, GeForce NOW, and Amazon Luna on millions of LG smart TVs.
At CES 2026, PHȲND announced a partnership with Magnite, the independent ad platform, to handle automated, data-driven advertising across its cloud gaming service. That deal is central to how the service stays free. Rather than charging players, PHȲND routes advertising revenue through Magnite, giving brands the same targeting and measurement tools they already use for connected TV buys.
From Tech Deals to Mainstream Moves
PHȲND has also been pushing its name into mainstream spaces. A Marshawn Lynch campaign launched ahead of Super Bowl weekend, built around the message of gaming without the barriers. No console. No cost. The spots ran across Sinclair Broadcasting stations in more than 60 U.S. markets. And more recently, PHȲND signed on as the front-of-kit sponsor for CT United FC’s 2026 MLS NEXT Pro season, the second-tier US pro soccer league, putting the brand on both the home and away shirts when the club kicks off its inaugural season this spring.
That’s a lot of ground covered before a public launch. Waters is walking into a company that clearly isn’t moving slowly. He announced the move on LinkedIn, noting the team is shipping soon. If PHȲND follows through on what it’s been building toward, free cloud gaming on the TV you already own gets a serious technical foundation behind it.
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