Axiomatic Gaming, the parent company behind Team Liquid, has raised $35m in funding, the latest example of big investment money flowing into the esports industry.
The funding round, valuing Team Liquid at $415m, was led by Ares Management, an investment group that also owns stakes in traditional sports teams Atlético Madrid and McLaren Racing and provided a secured credit line to the San Diego Padres. Last June, the company announced it had committed more than $1bn for sports, media and entertainment investments.
Team Liquid will use the new funds to look at potential acquisitions in new verticals, and to grow its fan base internationally. The team’s fastest-growing market is Brazil, where it already funds is about to break ground on a new training facility, its third after opening spaces Los Angeles and the Netherlands.
According to Axiomatic CEO Mark Vela, the company now has nine different revenue streams and in 2021 saw an increase by 50% in top-line revenue, which he expects will accelerate further this year.
Commenting on this latest funding round, Kort Schnabel, Partner and Co-Head of US direct lending at Ares Management, said: “We spent a lot of time scoping out the esports industry, unsure of whether we were going to make an investment or not. When we came across the Axiomatic opportunity, it presented things we did not see in any other esports opportunity that we evaluated.”
Other recent investments in esports include a $60m round for 100 Thieves, a $35m round for Misfits Gaming and a $12m round for Ampverse. And just last month, ReKTGlobal, owner of esports teams Rogue and the London Royal Ravens, was purchased by metaverse company, Infinite Reality, for $470m in stock.
