The China Sports Venue Association is reportedly "officially branching out into esports," according to Ferguson Mitchell of THE ESPORTS OBSERVER. The non-profit organization, under the direction of the official Chinese agency in charge of sports, "will focus on the establishment of professional esports venues in China." The new esports department will also look into integrating these venues into "esports industrial parks and esports-themed towns in China." CVSA is "now seeking to attract partners in both esports organizations and development partners like Zhongxian to further its plans" (THE ESPORTS OBSERVER, 3/22).
GOSU.AI RAISES $1.9M: THE ESPORTS OBSERVER's Trent Murray reported Game Insight Founder Alisa Chumachenko launched a new esports company, raising $1.9M in funding. Gosu.ai utilizes artificial intelligence to "provide gamers with direct feedback and coaching, from recommending item builds to suggesting strategies in certain matchups." The company will reportedly announce partnerships with other companies and will focus "not just on helping esports athletes, but also amateur players looking to improve." The investment round was led by Runa Capital and included participation from Ventech and Sistema VC, the latter of which invested $420,000 in a seed round in October (THE ESPORTS OBSERVER, 3/22).
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GROWTH SPURT: BROADBAND TV NEWS' Chris Dziadul reported there has been "huge growth in the number of distribution partners of ESL content in the last 12 months," according to Torsten Haux, the company’s VP, global media rights. Haux said that the ESL digital community includes 5 million followers on Facebook, 3.3 million on Twitter, 1.7 million on YouTube and 400,000 on Instagram. More generally, esports "has become a global spectator sport," with 386 million occasional viewers and enthusiasts worldwide (BROADBAND TV NEWS, 3/22).
