FanAI secures $8 million in Series A funding

Esports sponsorship data platform FanAI has secured $8 million (£6.13M) in its Series A funding round.

The round of funding was led by Japanese conglomerate Marubeni Corporation, with contributions from Courtside Ventures, Sterling VC, GFR Fund, Allectus Capital, CG Tracker Fund, M Ventures, and CRCM Ventures.

RELATED: FanAI acquires esports data company Waypoint AI

Johannes Waldstein, CEO of FanAI discussed the round in a relase: “We couldn’t imagine a better strategic investor than Marubeni to help realize our business objectives in a brand new market. Marubeni has forged incredibly strong business relationships throughout the region, and with this partnership we are positioned to expand our team and continue to build out our self-serve sponsorship data platform.”

FanAI has raised a total of $12.5 million (£9.9 million) to date and acquired esports data company Waypoint Media in January in order to gain access to its Twitch streaming viewer data. In September, the company continued its expansion through a partnership with consumer insights agency Interpret to provide valuation and streaming audits for esports teams, leagues, and events.

RELATED: FanAI names Randy Stude and Karim Varela as new hires

Daniel Welt, Vice President and General Manager, Next Generation Business Development Unit at Marubeni added: “Digital measurement based on real purchase data is a tremendous opportunity for brands as they optimize spend outcomes across entertainment and sports. Marubeni’s Next Generation Business Development sees FanAI as a strategic partner for the APAC region to bring leading platform analytics to that market”.”

Esports Insider says: FanAI has undergone significant expansion in the past year, with new hires and new acquisitions to enhance its offerings. With more money invested into the company, we’re interested to see what the next steps are for the company as we head towards 2020.

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