Sweden-based esports company Challengermode recently announced it is getting funding from the Alibaba Group. It is planned that the funds raised will be allocated to expand their operations from the European region to the North American region.
Not only that, the momentum gained by Challengermode is felt right when the number of active players globally tends to experience a significant increase since social restrictions were imposed since early 2020. At the same time, the number of viewers consuming gaming and esports content also grows with a positive trend.
Robel Efrem, co-founder and CEO of Challengermode said, “We are very excited to get this new funding together with the support of a strong group of investors who share the same vision for esports.”
The eWTP Capital is a company under the Alibaba Group which is the leader of the series of funding provided to Challengermode. Total funding of USD 12 million was collected from various sources such as Telia Ventures, GP Bullhound, and Back in Black Capital. The name Zlatan Ibrahimovic, a professional soccer player who also comes from Sweden, also took part in this funding series.
Several years before this, Zlatan Ibrahimovic has also entrusted a number of funds to the Challengermode esports platform in 2017. With the potential for the development of esports in the future, not a few celebrities and professional sports athletes have begun to look to invest their money in the realm of esports.
In the past few years, the Challengermode esports platform has become a platform that can be relied on in tournament implementation. The Dreamhack tournament, the esports organization Fnatic, and FIFA have collaborated with Challengermode.
Since its establishment in 2014, Challenggermode has successfully built an esports ecosystem from a grassroots community. The mission that Challengermode wants to achieve is actually fairly simple, namely, to become an esports platform that is inclusive of all players.
CY Chen as Managing Partner of eWTP Capital added, “We are pleased to add Challengermode to our eWTP Capital portfolio. Their position as a company that excels in the fast-growing esports industry makes them a perfect match for us. “
