Global esports organisation Fnatic has revealed that they've secured $19 million USD in Series A funding, with the investment round led by Lev Leviev of LVL1 Group, who also joins the board.
"With this investment, Fnatic will enter the next phase of its global expansion, strengthen involvement in tier-one leagues, including the League of Legends European Championships, launch new product categories in its esports equipment subsidiary including a new audio line, as well as scaling up resources to deliver and deploy marketing efforts and reach for brands on an international scale," the press release explains. We also hear that this will help expand the company into Asia and North America.
Former Mercedes AMG F1 Chief Executive Officer Nick Fry has been named chairman, while founder of Affectv Glen Calvert comes on as COO and Fnatic founder Sam Mathews becomes the CEO again. Former CEO Wouter Sleijffers steps down as a result of this.
Lead investor Lev Leviev said: "Esports is the future of entertainment as well as one of the most dynamic and exciting emerging industries out there. Fnatic has established itself as a driving force both on the competitive stage and as a global business in esports, I'm excited to be part of the next chapter as Fnatic scales into a global lifestyle brand"
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