Skillz, the mobile esports platform, announced on Wednesday it had raised $25 million in Series C funding, with the round led by media and telecommunications companies Telstra and Liberty Global and participants including Sacramento Kings co-owner Andy Miller.
Miller is the chairman and co-founder of the NRG Esports organization. The round comes after Series B funding that saw owners of the New England Patriots, New York Mets and Milwaukee Bucks co-owner Marc Lasry.
“Together we are shaping the future of competition, sports and media,” Skillz CEO and founder Andrew Paradise said in a statement.
Paradise told Forbes: “This is our last financing from a cash flow negative position. It is both a strategic partnership and investment. We were a company that was spending a lot of cash to grow before, and now we are cash flow positive and partnering with companies that have a reach of 40 million subscribers.”
The announcement came after Skillz, which hosts more than half a million mobile esports competitions each day, had rolled out esports ticker technology and multi-app chat technology, as the company continues to grow.
“This year, the top eSport event had more viewers than game seven of the MLB World Series,” Liberty Global Ventures vice president Bruce Dines said in a statement. “It is important for Liberty Global to progressively support new forms of entertainment and content. We’re excited to be a part of the eSports growth story and particularly excited to collaborate with Skillz in the creation and development of new eSports content.”
