The British esports organisation, Fnatic has announced that it has raised $17m (~£12m) in a funding round led by led by Japanese business conglomerate Marubeni Corporation. Founded by Sam Mathews and Anne Mathews in 2004, the team has players from around the world, across a variety of games, such as Apex Legends, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, Dota 2, FIFA, Heroes of the Storm, League of Legends, PUBG Mobile and Rainbow Six Siege.
According to the announcement, the investment includes a strategic partnership between the two organisations that will support Fnatic’s expansion into the Japanese and Asia-Pacific esports markets. The investment from the company will help Fnatic into expanding throughout the regions. Besides this, Fnatic will also relocate its Rainbow Six: Siege team to Japan.
On this investment, Sam Mathews, CEO, Fnatic said, “We’re so excited to have the strategic know-how of Marubeni leading this funding round. Marubeni’s knowledge of Japan’s business landscape will be a huge asset to Fnatic as we expand our commitment to APAC.”
ABOUT FNATIC
Fnatic is one the leading esports organization who has raised $53 million to date. The company has more than 100 employees who helps them build them as a leading esports brand. Till date, the has won more than $16M as prize pool and holds a large number of sponsors with them.
Adding to this, Fnatic has recently strengthened its leadership team with the addition of Georgina Workman (Head of Studios, Previously Appear Here), Julien Dupont (Partnership development, previously Vitality/Havas), Oliver Royce (Head of Apparel, Previously Gymshark) and Patrick Foster (CFO, previously Getaround). It has also continued to develop its high-performance esports brand through expanding its digital and physical performance products – revenues from these ranges have increased by 91 per cent year on year in the first quarter of 2021.
