PandaScore secures €5m in Series A funding round
French esports odds provider set to inject capital into team expansion and widening data scope
Esports odds and data provider PandaScore has secured €5m in a Series A funding round.
The Paris-headquartered supplier, which uses a proprietary AI system to collate and distribute real-time odds and statistics, will use the capital to build out its team and move into new titles.
PandaScore currently provides data for titles such as Dota2, League of Legends and CS:GO and holds partnerships with Latam operator Betcris and Pixel.bet.
The funding round was led by French VC firm Serena, alongside esports investment firm aXiomatic Gaming. VC firms KB Partners and Alven were also involved in the round, with the latter having led a 2017 funding round for PandaScore in which it raised $2.8m.
Flavien Guillocheau, PandaScore CEO, said esports’ exponential growth was “dependent” on data.
Guillocheau said: “Esports’ explosive growth is dependent on better data. Better data lets media companies broadcast more engaging content, bookmakers offer better esports products, and teams and tournaments capture more lucrative sponsoring money.
“Data is the fuel that powers the esports community and we’re proud to be supplying that fuel,” he added.
Olivier Martret, a Serena principal, said: “The Covid-19 pandemic highlighted a significant lack of resilience among traditional bookmakers, who really need to increase their agility.
“We are convinced that PandaScore’s tech is a key asset both for traditional bookmakers, enabling them to gain new market shares, and for newcomers in the bookmaker industry, offering them an unfair advantage to provide efficient and reliable services,” he added.