Fund Management
New Fund Taps Potential "Esports Bonanza"

The phenomenon of "esports", aka electronic sports involving video games and other channels, is expanding rapidly.
Artist
Capital Management, has raised $100 million for its first
fund, one that concentrates on electronic sports games, a
potentially multi-billion dollar sector.
The Artist Esports Edge Fund gives “concentrated exposure to
leading esports companies”, the investment firm said yesterday in
a statement.
The firm describes esports as a “groundbreaking secular growth
theme”, with an estimated 380 million unique viewers in 2018, it
said (source: Newzoo, Esports Market Report),
and a young audience, with 79 per cent of viewers aged 35 years
or under. Esports revenues stood at $900 million last year and
could catch up with traditional sports leagues
Artist Capital Management said another driver is that franchised
esports leagues are being built and that’s a “key inflection
point” for the industry. Examples include Activision's Overwatch
League or Riot Games' League of Legends North American
Championship Series.
"Similar to the evolution of other internet verticals, we expect
that a small number of esports companies will eventually win the
lion's share of industry revenue and market capitalization" Josh
Dienstag, Artist Capital Management's chief investment officer,
said.
The Edge Fund's investments include 100 Thieves, the Los
Angeles-based lifestyle brand and esports organization,
Washington Esports Ventures, the owner of the Washington Justice
team in the Overwatch League, and chatting and viewing apps in
the ecosystem.
The fund can invest across stages and in both primary and
secondary securities. In July of 2019, the Edge Fund led 100
Thieves' $35 million Series B, and Josh Dienstag joined 100
Thieves' board of directors.
Artist Capital Management also raised $35 million of incremental
capital from its limited partners in separate, co-investment
vehicles. Those funds were all deployed in 2019 to give further
support to Edge Fund portfolio companies.