Rewired.GG, the $55.16m esports venture fund that invests in the global growth of esports, announced that it has invested a further $15.45 million into Team Vitality, taking its total investment to date to $37.51 million.
The funds will be used to support the continued growth of Team Vitality as the team pursues expansion across India, where it will be acquiring new players and launching a network of esports academies. The Team, which was founded in 2013 with $11032, aims to be one of the world’s first $1 billion esports teams. Today’s investment, along with the 22.06 million that Team Vitality received from Rewired(dot)GG in November 2018, is thought to be the largest investment into a European esports team to date.
“In 2013 we started Team Vitality at $11032.2. Today Team Vitality has built amazing teams that regularly win tournaments all over the world and a strong brand that is backed by our amazing and dedicated fans and our premium sponsors. Receiving further backing by Rewired.GG after the initial investment of €20M in November 2018 is a testament to the strength not only of the team but also a comment on the growth of the sector as a whole. This investment will go towards continuing to turn Team Vitality into a global esports brand and we look forward to providing further updates on our future wins as we continue to pursue V for Victory” said Team Vitality CEO, Nicolas Maurer.
Today also marks the opening of the new multi-million euro Team Vitality headquarters in Paris, called V.Hive, which will be open to the public. In a world’s first for an esports team, the 10,700 sq ft V.Hive has more than 530 sq ft of the storefront in the bustling heart of Paris and will offer engaging esports discoveries and experiences to anyone who walks in.
Team Vitality is one of the biggest esports teams in Europe and boasts some of the world’s top esports players and coaches. It is one of only ten European esports teams in the League of Legends European Championship franchise, and has recently won the 2019 World Championship for Rocket League, won the 7th season of the prestigious ECS tournament for Counter-Strike: Global Offensive and took 3rd place in the 2019 FIFA World Championship. It is also one of only a few esports teams with blue-chip sponsors such as Orange, Renault, Red Bull and Adidas.
Rewired.GG forecasts that esports will rival traditional sports such as soccer and basketball and will be a major investment category for institutional investors, funds and investment managers. By 2020 it is estimated that the monthly global esports audience size will be nearly 600 million, equivalent to the current global audience of the English Premier League.
As with any major sport, the business of esports is based on media rights, advertising, prize money, merchandise, sponsorship and partnerships. Revenue from these is growing exponentially.
“Any industry with an audience that’s growing rapidly into hundreds of millions is hugely exciting and esports is no exception. We’ve seen the current esports trend many times before in the tech sector: first, the number of eyeballs grows exponentially, and then full monetization comes later. We believe that esports is one of the world’s fastest-growing industries today, especially in India, and the success of teams like Team Vitality show that there is a real opportunity for growth in this market. We are well on the way to building one of the world’s first billion-dollar esports teams.” Rewired.GG Principal Amit Jain commented.
In 2017 it was estimated that esports generated $655 million in annual revenue, including 38 per cent from sponsorships and 14 per cent from media rights. By 2022, it is forecast that media rights will reach 40 per cent of total esports revenue and that total global esports monetization will reach $3bn.
