Esports infrastructure company and tournament organizer Nerd Street Gamers announced that it has raised an $11.5M USD financing round led by San Francisco-based venture capital firm Founders Fund, with additional participation from all of its existing investors. The investment brings the company’s total funding to approximately $25M.
Nerd Street Gamers revealed that it experienced significant growth throughout 2020 despite its esports and gaming centers under the Localhost brand were closed for the majority of the past year due to COVID-19. The company’s digital platform grew its membership by more than 218% since 2019 and Twitch viewership for the live broadcasts of its tournaments increased by more than 4,000% in minutes watched.
Although Nerd Street Gamers had to adjust to the global pandemic, it opened three new Localhosts in 2020 in Austin, Philadelphia, and St. Louis. Further, the company plans to open two 20K+ square foot regional Localhost facilities in Philadelphia and Los Angeles and roll out several Localhosts in collaboration with Five Below.
In October 2019, Nerd Street Gamers closed a $12M Series A funding round from Five Below, Comcast Spectacor, SeventySix Capital, Elevate Capital, and angel investor George Miller.
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