US-based gaming and esports streaming network Venn has emerged with $17m in seed funding from investors including Bertelsmann Digital Media Investments (BDMI), a corporate venturing vehicle for media group Bertelsmann.
Venture capital fund Bitkraft Esports Ventures led the round, which also featured esports holding company Axiomatic, multi-family office Lifeline Financial Group, Reimagined Ventures and angel investors Marc Merrill, Mike Morhaime, Amy Morhaime, Kevin Lin and YuChiang Cheng.
Venn plans to launch its ‘post-cable’ television network in 2020 and will produce original programming focused on gaming and esports in addition to streaming content.
BDMI partner Keith Titan said: “The explosion in gamer-driven digital entertainment over the past decade has shown that traditional models must evolve to keep up with this new audience.
“We believe that [co-CEOs Ben Kusin and Ariel Horn] bring the passion, experience and authenticity critical to creating content that serves, engages and challenges the digital audience. We are thrilled to be part of their support network as they put this bold new vision into action.”
