Confirming the appeal of eSports projects, Russian startup Learn 2 Play announced earlier this week that it raised nearly $1.1 million from a pool of venture funds and business angels.
These investors, who have received a minority stake, include VC funds Buran and ru-Net, Anton Inshutin (InVentures Partners), Jarom Severson (Chess.com), Erik Allebest (Chess.com) and Lev Batalov (DLA).
Up to $2 million may be injected in the company in further stages, according to the agreement, EWDN learned from co-founder Maxim Dreval.
Founded in 2017, Learn 2 Play develops eSports projects with educational, technological and/or marketing dimensions. Among the company’s first products is Moremmr.com, an e-learning platform for Dota 2 players.
Intended for players of any level, this platform includes a smart analytical system, in-game quests and educational videos made with support from professional players. It also provides game aficionados with in-depth analysis of every played match, according to Learn 2 Play.
“AI for every detail”
“Abundant statistical data about players’ performance is key in the educational process. With AI analysis covering every single detail, we enable each player to reach a higher performance and master the art of the game,” said co-founder Anton Kovalev.
The startup aims to cover all popular eSports disciplines. It targets English, Spanish, Chinese and Russian-speaking countries, with plans to expand across Asia as the next step.
“We’re planning to attract more than 3 million players all over the world on a monthly basis by the end of this year, and dozens of millions as early as next year,” says co-founder Dmitry Rybalchenko.
“The market is growing by leaps and bounds and so is competition,” conceded Dreval. “At the moment, there isn’t a clear leader in this area in the world arena, and we’re willing to become one.”
Dreval previously co-founded e-learning platform Foxford and held executive positions at Netology Group.
A $1.5 billion market
In 2017, the eSports industry reached $1.5 billion and is forecasted to grow up to $ 2.3 billion in 2020, according to data from Superdata Research cited by Russian mobile phone company MTS.
Russia, in turn, is among the front runners of the global eSports industry. A study by PayPal and Superdata Research revealed that the Russian market is the second largest in Europe after Sweden, amounting to $35.4 million in 2016.
The first major investment this field came in 2015, when Russian billionaire Alisher Usmanov announced an investment of “$100 million or more” in Virtus.pro. More recently Winstrike, a Russian globally-oriented eSports company, attracted $10 million from private investor Nikolai Belykh and several business angels.
Earlier this year, the Russian eSports market witnessed two major acquisitions and a $30 million ICO. In March, Russian-Lithuanian startup Gosu.ai announced that it attracted $1.9 million in funding, while Mangrove, a leading Western European venture fund, took part in the ICO of DreamTeam, a Ukraine-based eSports project.
