Startups Investment Recap – May 14

Sports App Sleeper Nets $20M In a16z-Led Series B, Counts NBA Stars Kevin Durant & Baron Davis As Investors

In 2017. Sleeper raised $1.95 million in a seed round led by Birchmere Ventures, which aided the company in paying for servers and covering development costs. A year later, it raised $5.3 million of Series A funding led by General Catalyst, and now Baron Davis as well as Kevin Durant have joined in on the investment front!

Esports and Gaming Agency META Raises €1M EUR

Benelux-based esports and gaming agency META announced that it has raised a €1M EUR investment to support the company’s growth. Investors that participated in the financing round included several executives from Benelux-based enterprises and a few celebrities, such as Belgian DJ’s “Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike” and Felix “Lost Frequencies” De Laet. META currently runs the Dutch and Belgian League of Legends European Regional Leagues (ERL) in a partnership with the game’s publisher, Riot Games. Furthermore, the company organizes GameForce, a gaming trade show in Benelux. META stated that it will use the capital to expand its business activities through products such as new esports platforms, competitions, and collaborations.

Wearable Tech Startup PlayerData Secures a £750,000 Investment

Scotland based Wearable tech startup, PlayerData, has secured £750,000 in funding to support market entry and its next phase of growth.The investment round, which saw Sir Terry Leahy among a group of prominent private investors to participate, will enable the startup to fast-track the launch of its sports team and individual athlete products. PlayerData’s EDGE product is a dual hardware and software platform that allows teams and individuals to access performance data and monitor their training – providing insights into distances covered, positioning on a pitch and tracking speed.

Guilded raised $7 million in Series A funding

Guilded announced that they’ve raised $7 million in Series A funding. The round was led by Matrix Partners, and saw participation from Initialized Capital, Susa Ventures, and Sterling.VC. Guilded is creating a chat platform designed for competitive gaming and esports that focuses heavily on keeping gamers organized and connected with their teams. Looking ahead, the platform is looking to get deeper into facilitating gameplay. Guilded is also building out a feature for tournaments to match servers with similar skill levels to each other, a feature that’s launching in the coming months.

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