Wells Fargo Joins Investing Round in Esports Company Matcherino

(Bloomberg) -- Wells Fargo & Co. is getting into the burgeoning esports market, joining a funding round for Matcherino Inc., a provider of software and services for running competitive video-gaming tournaments.

Wells Fargo Strategic Capital and technology investment firm Galaxy Digital are putting in $1.5 million for an undisclosed percentage of Matcherino, bringing the startup’s current funding round to more than $4.1 million, the esports company said in a statement.

Matcherino launched in 2015 and has raised more than $7.7 million in backing. The company’s tournament infrastructure has helped clients pay out more than $2.4 million in prize money to competitors.

The investment comes after the success of Epic Games Inc.’s Fortnite World Cup, in which thousands of players and fans gathered in New York amid competition for a $3 million top prize. Investors are on pace to flood more than $900 million into the industry this year, Matcherino said.

“Navigating the esports operating landscape has been an inefficient process leaving billions of unrealized dollars on the table,” Sean Sang Sub Lee, vice president for early-stage investing at Wells Fargo Strategic Capital, said in the statement. “We see an opportunity with Matcherino not only to remedy these inefficiencies, but to open long-untouched revenue streams for years to come.”

To contact the reporter on this story: Randall Williams in New York at rwilliams407@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Nick Turner at nturner7@bloomberg.net, John J. Edwards III, Cécile Daurat

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