- General
- October 26, 2020
- 4 minutes read
Tencent Leads New Round For VSPN
Martin Lau, President, Tencent. Photo credit: World Economic Forum, licensed under Creative Commons Chinese gaming giant Tencent has led a…
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| Martin Lau, President, Tencent.
Photo credit: World Economic Forum, licensed under Creative Commons
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Chinese gaming giant Tencent has led a $100 million Series B round for Versus Programming Network (VSPN), a Chinese esports tournaments organizer. The company was joined by venture capital firm Tiantu Capital, quantitative trading firm SIG, and social media company Kuaishou in the Series B round. VSPN says it’ll use the new funding to bolster its business both in China and abroad.
Before now, VSPN’s last known funding round was a Series A that was led by Chinese advertising company Focus Media Network in 2016 which is the same year the company was founded.
VSPN is a leading esports events organizer in China, with over 10,000 events organized so far. The company has branded esports venues in three Chinese cities as well as in South Korea. VSPN’s operations are centered on Shanghai, the vibrant Chinese city that’s itself a major esports hub on a global scale.
Tencent is a major gaming company so it’s no surprise that it’s leading a big funding round for VSPN. In fact, it’s such that several of the games VSPN holds esports tournaments for are produced by Tencent, two examples being battle royale titles Peacekeeper Elite and Clash Royale. VSPN has fared very well in the Chinese esports industry and says it has partnered with over 70% of esports tournaments in the country.
VSPN has more than 1,000 employees across five business divisions, signaling a very healthy business for the company. With the new funding, it’ll expand further both in China and abroad, riding on the heels of a fast-growing global esports market.
