South Korean private equity firm ATU Partners has launched the ATU Esports Growth Fund, with an initial capacity of 20 billion won (approx. $17.2 million).

ATU also confirmed it has added two companies to its esports fund’s portfolio, in the shape of South Korean esports team DragonX and talent agency AZYT.

Limited partners of the fund, which is said to be the first in the region dedicated to esports, include major corporations like Kakao Games and The E&M, along with institutional investors including Woori Technology Investment and SB Partners.

Chief advisor to the fund is media and esports investment expert Allen DeBevoise, who currently also serves as managing director of Third Wave Digital, a marketing firm.

The fund will be managed by former McKinsey & Company consultant and head of global business at esports broadcaster OGN, and ATU Partners founder and CEO Jamie Jungmoo Park.

Discussing the fund’s launch, Park said:

“The esports industry has been growing rapidly at 30% YoY over the last couple of years. Followed by the investment boom in K-Pop and K-Beauty, we forecast that esports will become the next big investment trend capturing Korea’s strength in the industry.”

Both DragonX and AZYT are positioned to bridge the gap between the Asian and North American esports market, giving an indicator of the focus of the fund.

DragonX currently competes in League of Legends Champions Korea (LCK) – the last remaining major unfranchised LoL league. It has been reported that ATU has plans to expand the organisation into China and the US, and expand into titles like CS:GO and Fortnite, which are currently under-represented in Korean competitive circles.

AZYT is a Los Angeles-based esports talent agency established in June 2018 by two Korean-Americans. So far it has signed more than 70 pro players.

ATU is also said to have plans to launch a second esports growth fund in Q3 2020 – with plans for $50M aimed at digital data and analytics platforms.

AYO.NEWS says:

Esports funds seem to be popping up all over the place recently, but this is said to be the first in the region, and it does have an interesting focus – trying to bridge the Pacific and unite South Korean and North American esports. We wonder who’ll be next to join the ATU portfolio?

AYO.NEWS says features the opinion of the author and does not necessarily reflect the views of Pentagon Digital Limited.

Swedish esports organisation GODSENT have signed a three-year exclusive apparel deal with fashion label Björn Borg.

Apparently the partnership actually began in autumn, and will see Björn Borg’s clothing featured in all GODSENT official match wear and merchandise.

The partnership will see a new collaborative collection, slated for release in autumn 2020, that focuses on the benefits of physical training alongside gaming.

Discussing the partnership, CEO at GODSENT, Ludwig Sandgren, explained:

“Since I started my career as an entrepreneur in esports I have worked to incorporate workout regiments in the life of professionals players, since it to me always have been easy to recognise the obvious benefits of being fit when you try to be the best at anything.

“Therefore, I am extremely proud to be able to bring Björn Borg into our world and collaborate with them to bring higher standards to our organization and to the esports world in general by putting focus on the physical aspect of the professional lifestyle of the esports athlete.”

While CEO at Björn Borg, Henrik Bunge, added:

“I look very much forward to our collaboration with GODSENT. We both share a strong belief that physical training adds far more value than just feeling good. For GODSENT, it has added value in becoming the best in the world within esports.”

AYO.NEWS says:

Though sportwear brands are increasingly active in the esports space, this partnership is notable for its long-term aspect, and seems to be aimed at building a very distinct lifestyle brand, of which esports and gaming is one aspect, but maybe not the dominant one. It will be interesting to see what crystalises from this in autumn next year!

On a decidedly cuter note, in November UK-based esports organisation entered an apparel partnership with iconic Japanese brand Hello Kitty (read more), while Vexed Gaming also expanded its partnership with sportwear brand Kappa (read more).

AYO.NEWS says features the opinion of the author and does not necessarily reflect the views of Pentagon Digital Limited.

Immortals Gaming Club’s LCS franchise, Immortals, has announced partnerships with GameStop and Ironclad Performance Wear, and an “intimate season kickoff party.”

Immortals will be launching the season that sees it return to the North American league, and the partnerships, with a special event on 13^th January 2020 at Button Mash – a vintage arcade bar in the Echo Park neighbourhood of Los Angeles.

The organisation says its partnership with GameStop will be geared towards the amateur community and allow League of Legends fans to participate in exclusive content and special access activations.

Immortals’ partnership with Ironclad will feature a ‘handy’ collaboration to be revealed at their first event in January – namely, a gaming glove designed and tested in collaboration with Immortals Gaming Club teams. Apparently, a prototype glove will be available to try at the Button Mash event.

Discussing the partnership, and new gaming globe, President of Ironclad Performance Wear, Jun Xu, said:

“Ironclad gloves are built on innovation, authenticity and quality. Through our partnership with IGC, we worked with professional gamers, embracing those key elements to create a totally new glove category.

“These are exciting times for us to finally bring this glove to market after extensive product development and field testing which took us through uncharted territory. Our hope is that these gloves will allow players to push the envelope of their gameplay performance and endurance, by reducing sweat and fatigue to create a better gaming experience.”

AYO.NEWS says:

Well, if we were in LA we’d definitely be swinging by Button Mash (tickets are only $7 and available here)!

The GameStop partnership sounds run-of-the-mill, but the Ironclad partnership is interesting, as it marks a whole new world for the company, which normally creates gloves for manual and skilled tradespeople, DIY enthusiasts and construction workers. They obviously have the tech know-how when it comes to making gloves, but will they be able to successfully market to the gaming crowd?’

AYO.NEWS says features the opinion of the author and does not necessarily reflect the views of Pentagon Digital Limited.

Social media behemoth Facebook has acquired Spain-based cloud gaming startup PlayGiga for a reported €70 million (US$78m).

The PlayGiga team have posted a statement on their website hinting at Facebook’s plans for the company, saying: “We are continuing our work in cloud gaming, now with a new mission.”

Is Facebook looking to take its experience with Instant Games, which launched in 2016 and gave users the ability to play HTML5 games without downloads, and take things to the next level with a real, high-quality cloud gaming service? It certainly looks that way…

Prior to the acquisition Madrid-based PlayGiga had been offering its services across Italy, Spain, Argentina and Chile. According to Variety, the company had also been planning to launch in the Middle East region, and had been exploring opportunities in Sweden, Austria, the Netherlands and Guatemala.

AYO.NEWS says:

The cloud gaming market looks set to explode in 2020, with Google having just launched its Stadia service, Microsoft previewing its xCloud service ahead of a 2020 launch, and Sony having dropped the subscription price of its PlayStation Now service to just $9.99 per month.

AYO.NEWS says features the opinion of the author and does not necessarily reflect the views of Pentagon Digital Limited.

Mogul, the Australia-based esports platform, has announced a strategic partnership with Mineski Global, the Philippines-based esports events organiser.

Slated to last for five years, the partnership will make Mogul the primary esports tournament platform for Mineski’s city-based tournament league in the Southeast Asian region. Mineski will also launch its own branded hub, and introduce Mogul’s platform throughout its extensive network of cybercafes.

Mogul and Mineski will also work together to introduce new revenue streams including subscription-based packages aimed at cybercafes and other Southeast Asian organisations looking to engage with esports promotions.

The deal is structured similarly to those Mogul has with Tier One Entertainment, SG Esports and SARENA (read more) – with the company collecting half of all tournament, event and sponsorship revenues generated by the partnership.

Discussing the partnership CEO of Mineski Global, Ronald Robins, said:

“We’re very excited to enter this strategic partnership with Mogul where we will now launch a Branded Hub, offer online tournaments and events across the Southeast Asian region, as well as roll out Mogul’s platform at our gaming cafes.

“Mogul offers Mineski an exciting way to engage with our existing fans and audience, as well as develop new ways of increasing that audience on a global scale – particularly with novel initiatives such as group subscriptions enabled by Mogul’s platform.”

While Managing Director of Mogul, Gernot Abl, added:

“Partnering with Mineski brings Mogul to the largest esports organisation in Southeast Asia, covering live and online events, online tournament series, cybercafes, as well as marketing and promotions programmes in the region. Mogul and Mineski will work closely over the coming months in advance of the launch of Mineski’s Branded Hub and commencement of our joint marketing activities.”

AYO.NEWS says:

Its all go for both Mogul and Mineski recently! A week ago we reported Mogul had secured $3.97M in its latest share placement (read more), while in November Canva co-founder Cameron Adams joined its board of directors (read more). And, just last week Mineski opened an impressive new global headquarters facility in Manila (read more).

AYO.NEWS says features the opinion of the author and does not necessarily reflect the views of Pentagon Digital Limited.

Zurich-based sports technology boutique Blocksport has announced a partnership with Paris-based esports data provider PandaScore.

The partnership will see PandaScore supply Blocksport with its range of live AI-based esports data, statistics and analytical services, to help Blocksport develop and launch esports-focused mobile apps.

Discussing the news CEO pf PandaScore, Flavien Guillocheau, said:

“Blocksport’s mobile app is bridging the gap between fans, sponsors and esports teams. It brings you everything in one hand. We believe in Blocksport – it’s the perfect way for us to deliver the esports data that fans truly deserve.”

While Co-founder of Blocksport, Semih Kaçan, added:

“The partnership with such an innovative data provider strengthens our social sports ecosystem significantly. We are looking forward to a successful partnership with PandaScore.”

PandaScore currently provides data covering League of Legends, Overwatch, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, Dota 2, and PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds, and says it will be adding support for Rocket League soon.

AYO.NEWS says:

Esports generates huge amounts of real-time data, which can easily overwhelm and make for messy, clunky platforms and services, so having access to effective AI-based analytics and data services is critical to those developers looking to build apps that will deliver real-world value to esports fans.

Staying with PandaScore, in September we reported the company had entered a strategic partnership with UK-based multimedia news agency PA Media (read more).

AYO.NEWS says features the opinion of the author and does not necessarily reflect the views of Pentagon Digital Limited.