2017 US Esports Startups Raised ~$200M
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TNL Take: The money that poured into esports in 2017, from team investment to franchise buy-ins, was astonishing.
US startups haven’t been left out of the bounty as they took in almost $200M in venture funding last year.
Here’s a breakdown of who got the investment and where they play in the esports ecosystem (Note: Some startups tread the line between esports, gaming and content):
Discord ($50M): Messaging, chat and game integration with ~100M users. Basically Slack/Skype for gamers
Skillz ($25M): Mobile esports platform
Super Evil Megacorp ($19M): Publisher of mobile esports game Vainglory
Super League Gaming ($15M): Organizes esports events and leagues within movie theaters
Plays.tv ($15M): Game highlights and social sharing platform
Smash.gg ($11M): Esports tournament organization platform
Underworld Esports ($10M* Estimated): Portland based esports team
Sliver.tv ($9.8M): 3D/VR live streaming platform for esports
Wavedash Games ($6M): Game publisher with upcoming esports title
Gamer Sensei ($4M): Esports coaching platform
Gawkbox ($3.7M): Monetization tools for streamers
Guilded ($3.2M): Esports team management platform
Maestro ($3M): Enterprise live streaming monetization and data collection
Haste ($3M): Network performance for esports
Genvid ($2.5M): Esports interactive broadcasts
FanAI ($1.8M): Esports audience monetization platform
Taunt ($1.75M): Esports fan competition platform
Matcherino ($1.5M): Crowd funded esports prize pools
VY Esports ($1.5M): Platform bridging esports, media companies and brands
Foundry IV (Undisclosed): Esports game developer
As expected, the majority of investment was West Coast based with twelve of the twenty investments taking place in California.
What will 2018 hold?
Potentially a further surge in seed stage rounds with some of those above already looking for Series A.
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