Esports organization Gen.G has raised $46M from a diverse syndicate of investors that includes several prominent Silicon Valley funds and high-profile individuals, such as Clippers investor Dennis Wong and actor Will Smith. Also providing capital is Dreamers Fund, created by Smith and Japanese soccer star Keisuke Honda, former Alibaba Group exec Michael Zeisser and MasterClass co-Founder David Rogier. Silicon Valley Bank joined the round and has also become an official marketing partner, said Gen.G CEO Chris Park. Stanford Univ. invested, along with Silicon Valley firms New Enterprise Associates, Conductive Ventures, Battery Ventures and Canaan Partners. NEA’s Rick Yang will join the board.
Terms of the deal were not made public. Gen.G said it will use the funding to launch a youth academy program, open a team HQ in L.A. this summer and further expand into new games/regions. Gen.G owns OWL team Seoul Dynasty, as well as the '17 League of Legends world champion team, which competes in the South Korean circuit. Smith and Honda will join former NBAer Chris Bosh, who now serves as Gen.G Player Management Advisor, in advising on creative and commercial endeavors.
