Android-on-Windows app BlueStacks raises $10.6M

BlueStacks, which lets users run Android applications on most Windows PCs, has raised $10.6 million in its first round of funding.

The round was disclosed in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The filing did not indicate which firms participated in the round.

BlueStacks is similar to Parallels Desktop for Mac, which lets Mac users run an instance of the Windows operating system in a window. Both operating systems are basically running simultaneously, so the user doesn’t have to reboot the computer to start a different operating system as some other operating systems require. BlueStacks is compatible with all x86-based PCs.

Users can turn a Windows tablet into an Android tablet, although such a device/OS combination would probably run less smoothly than a tablet actually built for that purpose. The software handles both touch interfaces and mouse input to interact with the applications.

Three of the largest mobile operating systems have hit traditional computers. Apple’s latest operating system, Lion, brings a lot of features from its iPhone operating system to the Mac. Hewlett-Packard also still plans to bring WebOS, the mobile operating system for its Pre line of phones and its TouchPad tablet, to PCs.