Razer, the US-based gaming equipment producer backed by mobile internet technology provider Hangzhou Liaison Interactive, has raised between $50m and $100m from venture capital firm Horizons Ventures, TechCrunch reported yesterday.
Founded in 2005, Razer supplies a range of gaming-focused hardware products such as keyboards, controllers and dedicated gaming laptops as well as software offerings such as a virtual currency wallet and an eSports platform.
The funding was disclosed at the same time as a strategic partnership with mobile network operator Three that will involve the introduction of mobile devices and tariff plans aimed at gamers, the distribution of Razer’s zGold virtual currency and the opening of a brick-and-mortar store in Hong Kong.
Horizons Ventures made the investment at a valuation close to $2bn, a source told TechCrunch. Li Ka-Shing, the chairman of Three’s owner, conglomerate CK Hutchison Holdings, is also Horizons Ventures’ largest backer.
Razer had raised an undisclosed amount from Intel Capital, chipmaker Intel’s corporate venturing unit, in a 2014 deal that valued it at $1bn, three years after it had secured $50m from IDG-Accel Fund, the VC fund set up by IT media firm International Data Group and VC firm Accel.
Digital Grid, a subsidiary of Hangzhou Liaison Interactive, paid $75m for a 5% stake in the company in February 2016. Razer’s other backers include Singaporean state-owned investment firm Heliconia Capital Management.
– Photo courtesy of Razer Inc.