Fnatic raises $10 million and launches crowdfunding

12 November 2020

Leading global eSports brand Fnatic announced yesterday that it has raised $10 million in an internal round, which will be used to support the global growth of its eSports brand and drive the success of its teams. The organization has also announced the launch of a crowd equity campaign with Crowdcube, the world’s largest crowdfunding platform.

This crowdfunding campaign reflects Fnatic's ambition to innovate and continuously enhance gaming performance while making it accessible to all. Its proceeds will be directly allocated to initiatives that will foster the advancement its mission to seek out and level up the next generation of gamers. “We’ve been looking to conduct a crowdfund campaign for a while. This investment provides the perfect opportunity for our community, friends and enthusiasts to join our established investors and own a piece of Fnatic”, said Sam Mathews, founder and CEO of Fnatic.  “Crowdfunding is a dynamic and increasingly popular way to fundraise as it provides an opportunity to transform our active and engaged community into investors by giving them the chance to get closer to our journey than ever before. We’re very excited to be working directly with our audience, partnering with them to shape the future of Fnatic, and of entertainment, sports and gaming performance”, he added.

One of the most viewed teams

Over the past three years, Fnatic has been ranked consistently as one of the most viewed teams among western eSports fans. It has also been the second most watched team of 2020 with over 110 million hours watched, to date. As one of the most globally recognized and successful eSports brands with total cash winnings nearing $16 million across 903 tournaments, Fnatic continuously sets the bar through community activations and innovative brand partnerships with world renowned brands. “eSports is an industry experiencing explosive growth, and yet in many ways is still in adolescence,” said Karen McCormick, Chief Investment Officer of Beringea, which led the internal investing round. “Having evaluated the industry from many angles, Fnatic was a relatively simple investment decision given the premier status of the brand, consistency as a true performance company, and growth and engagement of the fan base. The business has also become a global leader in a very capital efficient way, building a standout team while maintaining a clear focus on economics and profitability”, he added.
Fnatic has now raised nearly $35 million across its various funding rounds.