Change is afoot for the London-based esports organization.
Fnatic has secured US$19 million in a Series A funding round to be used for a global expansion aimed at strengthening its presence in Riot Games’ League of Legends European Championship (LEC) as well as increasing the Fnatic team size from 150 to 1,000, reported Reuters.
Other plans in the pipeline include a new line of audio products, investing in nutrition and psychology programs as well as physical training coaches for its esports teams.
To facilitate these plans, Fnatic will be shifting its senior leadership team around, with former Mercedes AMG F1 CEO Nick Fry, Fnatic’s current head of commercial strategy becoming Chairman, while serial entrepreneur and Affectv founder Glen Calvert will take up the role of COO. Lastly, Fnatic founder Sam Matthews will return as the organization’s CEO.
The investment round for Fnatic was headed by entrepreneur Lev Leviev of LVL1 Group who also joins the organization’s board. New investors bolstering the organization’s financial portfolio include the British venture capital firm Beringea, Hong Kong-based private equity firm BlackPine, London-based investment firm Unbound, as well as MIT Media Lab director Joi Ito.
Fnatic has previously raised around US$7.5 million in funding from investors including Raptor Group Holdings which was founded by investment manager Jim Pallota, co-owner of the Boston Celtics, an NBA team.
Fnatic is one of the first global esports organizations, and has a diverse presence in various esports titles including League of Legends, Dota 2, Fortnite, FIFA, Street Fighter V, and Clash Royale, among others.
