Liberty Global and Telstra Lead $25 Million Investment Into Skillz to Build Future of eSports
SAN FRANCISCO, Dec. 13, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Skillz, the worldwide leader in mobile eSports, today announced $25 million in Series C funding. The round was led by leading media and telecommunications companies Telstra and Liberty Global, which have a combined 40 million subscribers around the world. Other participants in the round included Sacramento Kings co-owner Andy Miller, Bridge Bank, and existing investors Accomplice and Wildcat Capital.
"This year, the top eSport event had more viewers than game seven of the MLB World Series," said Bruce Dines, Vice President at Liberty Global Ventures, the world's largest international TV and broadband company. "It is important for Liberty Global to progressively support new forms of entertainment and content. We're excited to be a part of the eSports growth story and particularly excited to collaborate with Skillz in the creation and development of new eSports content."
With revenue growth over the past three years surpassing 50,000%, Skillz is America's fastest-growing company according to Inc. Magazine. The company announced that it crossed the $100 million revenue run-rate threshold earlier this year, while delivering over an hour a day of media entertainment per player on the network.
"Skillz is the clear leader in a multi-billion dollar, winner-take-all market," said Ryan Moore, founder of leading venture capital firm Accomplice. "With the largest network of both players and developers, Skillz has pioneered and literally defined mobile eSports."
Skillz has hosted over 100 million mobile eSports tournaments, and today hosts more than half a million competitions each day. The company has collected six issued patents while partnering with more than 3,000 game studios.
"With our Series B, Skillz partnered with the leaders in sports: the owners of the New England Patriots, Milwaukee Bucks and New York Mets," said Andrew Paradise, CEO and founder of Skillz. "With our Series C, we have partnered with the world's leading media companies in Telstra and Liberty Global. Together we are shaping the future of competition, sports and media."
This news follows the company's rollout of the world's first eSports ticker technology and its November launch of the world's largest multi-app chat technology. For more information on Skillz-enabled games and implementing mobile eSports competitions, visit www.skillz.com or email launch@skillz.com.
About Skillz
Skillz, the leading mobile eSports platform, connects the world's 2.6 billion mobile gamers through competition. In 2017, Skillz was named the #1 fastest-growing private company in America by Inc. Magazine, the first eSports company on CNBC's Disruptor 50, and the only eSports company on the San Francisco Business Times Fast 100. Over 12 million gamers use Skillz to compete in thousands of mobile games. Skillz awarded more than 46 percent of all eSports prizes and broadcast over 40 million minutes of footage to spectators worldwide in 2016. Founded in 2012, Skillz is headquartered in San Francisco and backed by leading venture capitalists as well as the owners of the New England Patriots, Milwaukee Bucks, New York Mets and Sacramento Kings. To learn more, visit www.skillz.com.
Press Contact
Roxie Bostwick
Communications Lead
Skillz Inc.
pr@skillz.com
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