PlayVS, a US-based backed esports platform developer backed by corporates Adidas, Samsung Next and WndrCo, has completed a $50m series C round, Forbes reported on Wednesday.
Venture capital firm New Enterprise Associates (NEA) led the round, which included Battery Ventures, Sapphire Ventures’ Sapphire Sport fund, IVP, 01 Advisors and Michael Ovitz, co-founder of talent agency Creative Artists Agency.
PlayVS has created an esports platform for high school students, who compete on popular titles such as League of Legends, Rocket League and Smite, in co-ed teams under the supervision of a coach chosen by their school.
The most adept teams can play off against each other with the goal of reaching regional playoffs and ultimately a state championship. PlayVS intends to use the series C cash to expand its app and double headcount to about 80 by the end of 2019.
Delane Parnell, founder and CEO of PlayVS, told Forbes: “Initially, we were all about: How do we build out the best infrastructure for high school esports? We are now thinking about how to build a 100 million-plus user subscription service around esports.”
The startup has now raised $96m altogether, having secured $15.5m in a June 2018 series A round NEA that included WndrCo, Science, CrossCut Ventures, Cross Culture Ventures, Coatue Management and various angel investors.
Elysian Park Ventures then led PlayVS’s $30.5m series B round in November, investing with WndrCo, sports apparel producer Adidas and Samsung Next, a subsidiary of electronics producer Samsung, as well as NEA, Crosscut Ventures, Coatue Management, Science, Plexo Capital and various angel investors.
