e-Sports company EVOS receives US$4.4M funding, focussing on growing entertainment division
EVOS, Singaporean e-Sports company, announces that it has secured US$4.4 million in Series A funding, with initial US$3 million coming from Insignia Ventures Partners, followed by angel investors that comprise of Indonesian conglomerate and Chinese e-commerce, injecting US$1.4 million.
According to a report by The Business Times, the company said it will use the fresh funding to “grow the startup’s e-sports entertainment arm”. Currently, its entertainment arm manages 50 gaming influencers and partners with 250 e-sports talents.
EVOS was founded in 2017 with the aim to facilitate competitive e-Sports teams across six major games. It trains and supports 13 teams comprising 62 players across five countries.
Three teams from EVOS, the company noted, will represent Singapore and Indonesia in the upcoming Southeast Asian Games.
According to EVOS’ Chief Strategic Officer Ang Teng Jen, e-sports influencers form the pillar of live-streaming and content platforms.
“Our top e-sports influencers earn around US$30,000 to US$60,000 a month – a hundred times higher than a typical fresh graduate’s salary, signaling an upcoming trend for the sector,” said Ang.
To manage its influencers, EVOS provides streaming contracts, brand endorsement deals, and offline event gigs to influencers, as well as managing their social media channels and creating content for them. EVOS’ influencers have a total of over two million followers on their social media platforms with more than 34 million subscribers to their channels.
Co-founder and CEO Ivan Yeo shares that despite being one of the fastest-growing industries globally, e-Sports remains largely untapped across Southeast Asia.
“With more brands are looking to get into e-Sports, sponsorship money per sponsor has grown to over US$500,000 currently, from US$10,000 when we started,” Yeo said.
The startup claimed to have worked with more than 40 brands, including Lazada, Gareno, and Lenovo. It also partners with e-commerce brands to create e-Sports content on the brands’ platforms, such as e-Sports game shows and online user tournaments with professional players.