United States-based esports infrastructure company, Nerd Street Gamers (NSG), has raised an additional $11.5M USD in a funding round led by Founders Fund.

NSG, which has seen its Localhost facilities closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but maintained growth with its online tournaments and its Nerd Street+ subscription service, says it intends to use the new capital to accelerate its expansion. 

Illustrating the rate of growth NSG has achieved, since 2019, the company says it has seen its membership grow by more than 218%, while its official Twitch Channel saw growth of over 4,066% in terms of minutes watched, with followers rocketing from 13K to over 120K. 

Even during the height of the pandemic, the company has continued to open new Localhosts, in Austin, Philadelphia, and St. Louis, and plans to open new 20,000+ square foot facilities in Philadelphia and Los Angeles over the coming year. It is also rolling out seven Localhosts in collaboration with tween and teen-focused retailer Five Below. 

Discussing the funding Founder and CEO of NSG, John Fazio, said:

“Nerd Street being added to Founders Fund’s portfolio of industry-pioneering organisations is one of our greatest honours to date.

“Within minutes of meeting Brian, it was clear that he was profoundly aligned with our vision and mission. Backing us during the uncertainty of a global pandemic is a testament to Brian’s bold foresight and an incredible validation for our entire team.”

While Founders Fund partner, Brian Singerman, added:

“I was impressed with John from our first meeting and knew I wanted to help advance his vision of building a robust infrastructure to support gamers of all ages and skill levels.

“As a gamer myself, I’ve watched the massive growth of esports over the years. Esports are surpassing traditional sports in the number of players and audience size, especially among younger demographics, and Nerd Street is in a perfect position to capitalize on that shift.”

The latest funding commitment follows a Series A round in October 2019 which raised $12M. That round saw participation from Five Below, Comcast Spectacor, SeventySix Capital, Elevate Capital, and angel investor George Miller – all of whom also participated in the latest round.

Staying with NSG, last month the company was confirmed as operator and producer of the first stage of the 2021 VALORANT Champions Tour. 

AYO.NEWS says:

With the COVID-19 crisis showing no signs of ending any time soon, and many sectors suffering record losses and contraction, it’s fantastic to see the video game and esports industry is still growing, inspiring confidence, and attracting substantial investment. 

‘AYO.NEWS says’ features the opinion of the author and does not necessarily reflect the views of Pentagon Digital Limited or its affiliates or associates. 

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Israel-based global gaming advertising platform Anzu has secured $9M USD in a funding round led by BITKRAFT Ventures and HBSE Ventures. 

The round also attracted participation from the world’s largest marketing services organisation, WPP; Sony Innovation Fund, the investment arm of one of the world’s largest gaming groups and the owner of PlayStation; Alumni Ventures Group, the leading LGBT+ VC Gaingels; iconic baseball team The Chicago Cubs; Goal Ventures; and prominent angel investors Marc Merrill, Co-Founder, Co-Chairman, and former Co-CEO of Riot Games. and Dylan Collins, Co-Founder and CEO of SuperAwesome – the industry’s leading kid-safe ad platform which was recently acquired by Epic Games.

Anzu says it will use the new capital to catalyse commercial growth, and fuel sales and marketing efforts to help propel it forward on a global scale. The participating investors will act as strategic partners, with Anzu remaining an independent company. 

With the gaming industry already larger than the music and film industries combined, and expected to reach around $275B by 2025, brands are starting to recognise the potential of gaming, and are finally starting to embrace it as an advertising channel. 

WPP CEO, Mark Read, noted:

“Gaming is one activity that has exploded over the past year and increasingly an important advertising channel. In partnership with Anzu, together with our agencies, we can make it simpler for them to reach the growing audience in the esports and gaming space.”

Anzu’s state-of-the-art programmatic technology blends real-world ads into the highest quality video games, esports tournaments, and live streams, adding authenticity to environments and turning game objects into valuable advertising opportunities. 

The company’s client list is already impressive, including game publishers Ubisoft, Lion Castle, and Nacon, along with huge global brands like Pepsico, Samsung, American Eagle, and Vodafone. 

CEO and Chief Investment Officer at Innovation Growth Ventures, Sony Innovation Fund, Gen Tschikawa, commented:

“Anzu has been delivering the technology they promised and growing their industry footprint. We are excited to join this funding round and support Anzu, entering a new phase of growth in in-game advertising. The company’s gamer-first attitude will enable developers to access new business models and bring advertisers closer to gamer audiences without disturbing gameplay.”

While Founding General Partner at BITKRAFT, Jens Hilgers, added:

“Since our initial investment, the Anzu team has built the most sophisticated platform to deliver blended in-game advertisement at scale in the higher-end games segment. 

“The impressive line up of game integrations combined with brands executing unique campaigns on the platform has validated Anzu’s market position and technology. We are proud to invest alongside this stellar group of co-investors and look forward to seeing the Anzu team continue to redefine in-game advertisement!”

The latest investment will help Anzu follow its strategic roadmap, which includes new products to compliment and amplify its core technology, along with global expansion to the United States (starting with Los Angeles, and New York), Singapore, China, and other major locations. 

Illustrating the potential of Anzu, at the end of October 2020, the company announced a partnership with the developers of massive multiplayer online role-playing game Virtuverse. The game has an average play session lasting an incredible six and a half hours, giving plenty of opportunities for players to econoutner video and banner ads displayed on immersive billboards and interior screens. 

The company has also partnered with German esports venue developer VERITAS Entertainment, to enable advertisers to communicate their messages within game and esports tournaments (don’t miss our exclusive interview with Dorian Gorr, MD, CMO & Co-Founder of VERITAS Entertainment here). 

AYO.NEWS says:

With online audiences becoming unresponsive to conventional advertising, and the effectiveness of traditional media like sponsorships, television, print and radio dwindling despite costs remaining high, in-game advertising offers perhaps the best opportunity to reach and engage with today’s audiences without annoying them. 

And, with platforms like Anzu and Adverty now offering an easy way to exploit in-game advertising opportunities in some of the most popular games, the surprising thing is that its taken brands this long to realise the potential. 

‘AYO.NEWS says’ features the opinion of the author and does not necessarily reflect the views of Pentagon Digital Limited or its affiliates or associates. 

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BLAST Premier has appointed Andrew Haworth, Director of Operations and Production, as Commissioner for its worldwide Counter-Strike tournament series. 

In his new role, Haworth will oversee the tournament format, rulebook, competitive integrity, and other key areas of governance. He will also be responsible for cross-industry relationships with stakeholders like ESIC and other tournament organisers. 

Discussing his new appointment Haworth said:

“I’m delighted to be able to have this opportunity to help develop and build a better BLAST Premier and Counter-Strike scene for years to come. 

“Our tournament series has grown to impressive heights over the last 12 months and we want to maintain this by continuing to implement formats and rules that help create fair and exciting CS:GO – ultimately making sure we’re always adding to and improving the ecosystem.”

While CEO of BLAST, Robbie Douek, added:

“For over two years Andrew has been the driving force behind our operations department and he’s helped create a highly successful BLAST Premier tournament series – he’s the perfect person to continue to maintain and foster new industry partnerships, help teams follow rules and regulations and ensure we’re providing a platform to empower other industry stakeholders and regions around the world.”

Reflecting the continued success and growth of BLAST Premier’s CS:GO series, last month’s Global Final match between Team Vitality and NAVI went down in history as the most popular and watched online event in Counter-Strike history. 

The 2021 season gets underway on Thursday, uniting all major tournaments, and offering opportunities to all regions. Up to 32 teams will take part across seven BLAST Premier events, with up to 80 teams competing in qualifying events. In total, it means the 2021 season could see up to 286 matches across the year, with a combined prize pool of $2,475,000 USD on the line.

Staying with BLAST, as reported last week, BIG has become the latest BLAST Premier Member Team, following a highly competitive bidding process for the 12th spot. 

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Dubai-based esports organisation Galaxy Racer has agreed a broadcast partnership with eLaLiga Santander Fan Cup. 

The deal will see Galaxy Racer operate an Arabic-language broadcast of the official FIFA esports competition of La Liga Santander, Spain’s top football league, for the ongoing season. 

The tournament will be broadcast internationally on eLaLiga’s official Twitch and YouTube channels, while Galaxy Racer channels will broadcast exclusively in Arabic. 

Commenting on the news CEO of Galaxy Racer, Paul Roy, said:

“We are beyond excited to partner up with eLaliga on this championship. Galaxy Racer’s Middle Eastern and South Asian fan base has always been one of the biggest audiences to European and International Football, so it only made sense for us to partner up with eLaliga and bring the excitement to our home turf!”

While eLaLiga’s Alvaro Mena, added:

“It’s amazing to see that the Middle East has such a large fanbase when it comes to not only gaming but the amount of viewership it holds worldwide on gaming platforms. It’s an honor to partner up with Galaxy Racer Esports for eLaliga as we know some of the biggest FIFA fans come from their home base.”

Founded in early 2020, Galaxy Racer is already one of the region’s most prominent esports organisations, with a growing presence across the United Arab Emirates. 

The organisation now fields teams in League of Legends, CS:GO, DOTA 2, PUBG Mobile, Rocket League, and Fortnite, and has a growing roster of content creators boasting a combined following of more than 45 million fans. 

Dubai’s esports industry has benefited recently from government support, in the form of initiatives like 10X. Launched in 2018 by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai and led by the Dubai Future Foundation, the scheme is designed to ensure Dubai progresses 10 years ahead of time.

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ASUS Republic of Gamers (ROG) has announced the launch of an esports academy program in India – the first of its kind in the country. 

The gaming hardware company says its new ROG Academy has been designed specifically for the next generation of Indian gamers, and will initially be focused on Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) – though it is expected programs for additional titles will be added later.

Indian gamers, aged 16 or over can register, after which they will undergo a selection process consisting of tests, interviews, and tournaments to find the six “most suitable candidates.” 

The lucky candidates that make it through will be kitted out with ASUS ROG equipment and gain access to professional support from coaches and gaming experts, including Agneya “Marzil” Koushik and Prashant “Aequitas” Prabhakar.

Discussing the new academy Business Head of ASUS ROG, Arnold Su, said:

“With immense pleasure, we introduce everyone to ROG Academy, an industry-first initiative aimed to empower gamers to conquer at competitions and elevate the esports industry.

“We are looking forward to encouraging budding gamers, mentoring them through their esports journey, and familiarise them with future opportunities in this landscape. 

WThis initiative will provide a huge boost in establishing a pool of credible esports players in India and pave the way for next-generation gamers with access to resources, mentorship and training.”

Koushik, who is currently Captain of Bl4ze Esports, will be the head coach of the new ROG Academy, while Prabhakar, a former pro player and current CEO of CS:GO-focused platform SoStronk, has designed the curriculum and will be working closely on the project. 

AYO.NEWS says:

The potential of the Indian gaming and esports industry is huge, given the country’s massive population and rising wealth. However, so far the country’s esports scene has been more associated with mobile titles, so it’s interesting to see an academy program focused on a PC title – and probably attests to the rapidly developing esports ecosystem in the region.

We reckon it’s going to be a tough call whittling the applicants down to just six though!

Staying with ASUS ROG, last month the company announced a partnership with Florida-based Misfits Gaming Group. 

‘AYO.NEWS says’ features the opinion of the author and does not necessarily reflect the views of Pentagon Digital Limited or its affiliates or associates. 

All original content featured on this site is © Pentagon Digital Limited, 2019-2021.

After a successful 1st year, 3D Aim Trainer has secured €1M Euro in a funding round led by Freshmen fund. 

Founded in July 2019, with the goal of helping FPS gamers improve their aim, 3D Aim Trainer now has a user base of almost 700,000 monthly active players. In addition to growing its user base, the company has also seen engagement per player triple. 

In total, users have already downloaded the app, which is available on both Android and iOS, more than 1 million times, and it has achieved a 4.5 out of 5 star user rating.

The company says it will use its new capital to expand its team, which currently stands at 17 full-time employees, bring the platform to other platforms, and continue to make aim training more fun. 

Discussing the news CEO of 3D Aim Trainer, Miquel Matthys, said:

“3D Aim Trainer’s mission is to inspire gamers to go next level. We are blessed with an incredible audience of hard-core gamers who are dedicated to improving their aim. But we want to support all gamers around the globe, regardless of their skill level, to get better at what they love doing. 

“For certain users, this means more expert training exercises, challenging targets, and deeper insights into their performance. For others, this means more guidance, a step-by-step approach and realistic goal setting, to keep motivation high and make aim training rewarding.”

While managing partner at Freshmen, Steven Spittaels, added:

“We’ve been very impressed with the way the team has managed their audience growth while scaling the company and preparing the fundamentals for future success.

“We strongly believe in tools to improve athlete performance, and 3D Aim Trainer does exactly that on a global scale in one of the most exciting industries. So we are very happy to invest in their future trajectory.”

Joining Freshmen fund, which also participated in the company’s angel round in July 2019, were Ron Doornink (former CEO/President of Activision and ex-chairman of Turtle Beach), and Jean-Bernard Moens (First VP of Gaming and Business at King – the company behind Candy Crush). 

3D Aim Trainer currently supports training for Fortnite, CS:GO, Overwatch, Apex Legends, PUBG, VALORANT, Call of Duty: Warzone, and Rainbow Six: Siege. 

AYO.NEWS says:

With the popularity of video games continuing to grow, and professional esports becoming ever more attractive as a career prospect, the demand for training tools is sure to increase. However, to stay in the race, training platforms will need to convincingly and consistently demonstrate that they provide real value and results to players. 

Staying with gaming training platforms, in November 2020, Statespace, the parent company of Aim Lab, secured $29M USD in a Series B funding round led by Khosla Ventures. 

‘AYO.NEWS says’ features the opinion of the author and does not necessarily reflect the views of Pentagon Digital Limited or its affiliates or associates. 

All original content featured on this site is © Pentagon Digital Limited, 2019-2021.