M80 Secures $3M in Seed Funding Round

Credit: M80

Esports organization M80 has secured a $3M USD in a seed funding round led by ExpertDojo, VT Technology Ventures, and Practical Venture Capital, the company announced on Wednesday. 

Sources The Esports Advocate spoke to over the last several months indicated that the organization was on the hunt for this exact amount of funding, so it appears that its founders have met the goal they intended to hit.

In a release, M80 said it will use the funds to “expand its footprint across esports, content creation, and consumer products.” M80 also aims to use some of the  funding to become a “web3-enabled gaming and esports company,” through a division called M80 Labs.

A majority of these early investors are taking their first steps in esports, though it’s likely, in our opinion, that the web3 components M80 pitched compelled them to commit, as the sector hasn’t left the hype cycle with VCs other sectors such as esports have.

ExpertDojo has a diversified portfolio of investments in banking, fintech, edtech, software, entertainment, and banking, but it appears that its financial commitment in M80 represents its first foray into esports.

VT Technology Ventures has invested in and exited from at least one esports company: Framerate. Interestingly enough, Framerate was also founded by current M80 CEO and co-founder Marco Mereu. VT Technology Ventures participated in two early seed funding rounds (amount invested undisclosed) in 2017 and 2018, but in June 2019 the esports-focused video platform was sold to Super League Gaming for $2.5M. 

Practical Venture Capital’s investment in M80 represents its first deal in the esports and gaming space; its other disclosed investments include Kitchen Data Systems, Klasha, Headout, Forecastr, Sova Health, and SolidBlock.