Daniel Saks
Chief Executive Officer
While overall gaming startup funding declined 12% in 2024, ten esports tech companies defied the trend by raising over $400 million combined and pioneering the infrastructure reshaping competitive gaming. The global gaming market, valued at $187.7 billion in 2024, continues to evolve as AI-powered platforms and infrastructure tools replace traditional content-focused investments. For go-to-market teams in the gaming and esports space, identifying the right audience at scale is as critical as building the right product. With agentic AI platforms now capable of processing 1,500+ unique signals across firmographic, technographic, and intent data, companies can build targeted lists of high-value prospects in seconds rather than days.
General Intuition is building foundational AI models specifically designed for gaming environments, focusing on spatial reasoning and environmental understanding rather than generic language processing. The company leverages Medal's massive dataset of 2 billion annual gameplay clips to train AI agents that can truly understand game contexts and player behaviors. Their technology aims to transform both game development and broader AI applications through gaming-native foundation models.
Key Innovation: General Intuition represents the convergence of foundational AI research with gaming-specific contexts, enabling AI agents that understand spatial relationships and environmental dynamics rather than just processing text or following scripted behaviors. This approach has applications beyond entertainment, including simulation and training environments.
Appcharge provides a compliant web shop infrastructure that enables mobile game publishers to bypass 30% app store fees while maintaining full payment processing capabilities. The platform handles all compliance complexity related to the EU Digital Markets Act and other regulatory frameworks, allowing publishers to retain customer data ownership and improve margins without altering core gameplay experiences.
Key Innovation: Appcharge's compliant web shop infrastructure allows publishers to reduce app store fees from 30% to much lower margins while retaining full customer data ownership and relationship management capabilities. This addresses a critical industry pain point as regulatory changes create new opportunities for direct-to-consumer monetization.
Good Job Games develops match-3 puzzle mobile games with sustainable in-app purchase (IAP) monetization models, successfully transitioning from hypercasual ad-dependent games to long-tail franchises. Their flagship title Match Villains has demonstrated exceptional post-launch revenue growth, proving their ability to build games with lasting player engagement and monetization potential.
Most Recent Round: $60M Serie A (August 2025)
Key Innovation: Good Job Games exemplifies the successful strategic pivot from hypercasual ad-dependent models to sustainable IAP-driven franchises, achieving extreme funding velocity and exceptional post-launch revenue growth. The company represents Turkey's emergence as a major mobile gaming hub with proven ability to compete globally.
PlayVS provides the official infrastructure for scholastic esports, enabling middle schools and high schools to organize and manage competitive gaming teams and tournaments. The platform handles league management, tournament organization, and provides free hardware and software through partnerships with major publishers like Nintendo, making esports accessible to under-resourced educational institutions.
Key Innovation: PlayVS has established the only comprehensive scholastic esports infrastructure at scale, creating a standardized pathway from amateur to professional play while ensuring accessibility through partnerships with major publishers. The platform's expansion to middle schools and strategic partnerships with NBC Sports for the ePremier League College Invitational demonstrates its role as the foundation for the next generation of competitive gaming.
Inworld AI provides comprehensive AI development tools for game studios, including dynamic NPCs with unpredictable interactions, in-game purchase recommendations based on player behavior analysis, and narrative generation tools. Their technology enables developers to create more immersive and responsive gaming experiences without extensive programming resources.
Key Innovation: Inworld AI's comprehensive suite of AI tools transforms game development by enabling dynamic, responsive NPCs and automated narrative generation. The proven commercial success with 20 million players using their technology and strategic partnership with Xbox validates their approach to making AI development accessible to game studios of all sizes.
Beamable provides backend infrastructure services for live-service games, including multiplayer services, live operations management tools, and content update systems. The platform enables game studios to scale their multiplayer games quickly and reliably without building proprietary backend infrastructure, reducing development costs and time-to-market.
Key Innovation: Beamable's backend infrastructure platform addresses the critical need for scalable, reliable services in live-service games, enabling studios to focus on gameplay and content rather than infrastructure complexity. The significant funding from BITKRAFT Ventures validates the strategic importance of middleware solutions in the modern gaming ecosystem.
SuperGaming develops mobile and PC games with competitive and live-ops elements, focusing on the growing Indian gaming market. The studio combines cost-efficient development with regional market advantages to create games that resonate with local players while maintaining global competitiveness through community engagement and live operations.
Key Innovation: SuperGaming demonstrates how regional gaming markets can compete globally through cost-efficient development and deep understanding of local player preferences. The studio's focus on both mobile and PC platforms with competitive elements positions it to capture the growing Indian gaming market while maintaining international relevance.
Pragma provides a backend gaming engine that handles server infrastructure management, matchmaking systems, and real-time game services for multiplayer games. The platform enables game studios to scale their multiplayer experiences quickly and reliably while reducing development time and infrastructure costs.
Key Innovation: Pragma's strategic validation from Square Enix Holdings demonstrates the importance of reliable backend infrastructure in modern game development. The platform enables studios to focus on gameplay and content creation while handling the complex technical requirements of multiplayer games, reducing time-to-market and infrastructure costs.
Razer develops premium gaming peripherals and hardware, including mice, keyboards, and headsets with cutting-edge performance specifications. The company's Viper V3 Pro mouse features industry-leading 8000 Hz polling rate and advanced technology for instant direction changes, pushing the boundaries of competitive gaming hardware.
Key Innovation: Razer's hardware innovations directly impact competitive gaming performance, with the Viper V3 Pro's 8000 Hz polling rate setting new standards for wireless gaming mice. The company's continuous push for performance improvements demonstrates how hardware advances can fundamentally enhance competitive gaming capabilities.
FaceIT provides infrastructure for competitive gaming, including ranked tournament systems, league management tools, and connections to tournament organizers. Following its merger with ESL, FaceIT has strengthened its role as the foundation of the global esports ecosystem, serving both amateur and professional competitive gaming communities.
Key Innovation: FaceIT's merger with ESL has created the most comprehensive competitive gaming infrastructure platform globally, serving both amateur and professional communities. The platform's high StartupBlink ranking indicates strong data metrics and market presence, establishing it as essential infrastructure for competitive esports at all levels.
The funding landscape for esports tech has shifted dramatically from content creation to infrastructure and enabling technologies. As noted by industry analysts, "investors favored scalable game studios and tools that improve development, monetization, and live operations" rather than traditional game development. This trend reflects the maturation of the esports industry, where reliable infrastructure, data-driven insights, and scalable platforms are becoming more valuable than individual content pieces.
For companies looking to enter or expand in the esports and gaming space, this infrastructure focus creates both opportunities and challenges. The need for sophisticated audience targeting and qualification has never been greater, as the competitive landscape becomes more complex and specialized. This is where AI-powered go-to-market platforms become essential for success.
The companies profiled in this list demonstrate the diversity and complexity of the modern esports tech ecosystem. From AI research labs to hardware manufacturers, each requires precise audience targeting to reach their specific market segments effectively. Gaming publishers need to identify tournament organizers and competitive gaming communities, while infrastructure providers must reach game studios and development teams.
With Landbase's VibeGTM interface, companies can use natural-language prompts to build targeted audience lists in seconds. For example, a gaming infrastructure provider could search for "CTOs at mobile game studios with 50-200 employees currently using Unity or Unreal Engine" and receive an AI-qualified export of up to 10,000 contacts ready for immediate activation.
The platform's 300 million+ contacts and 24 million+ companies with 1,500+ unique signals enable precise targeting across:
This level of precision is particularly valuable in the gaming and esports space, where communities are highly specialized and timing is critical. Whether targeting scholastic esports programs, professional tournament organizers, or mobile game studios, AI-powered audience discovery ensures that go-to-market efforts reach the right prospects at the right time.
Esports tech companies specifically focus on competitive gaming infrastructure, including tournament platforms, streaming technology, competitive analytics, and professional/amateur league management. General gaming companies focus on game development, publishing, or entertainment-oriented platforms. Companies like PlayVS and FaceIT are esports-specific, while studios like Good Job Games create games that may be played competitively but aren't primarily focused on competitive infrastructure. The distinction matters for investment focus and market positioning.
Esports tech companies secure funding by addressing critical infrastructure needs rather than content creation. Investors favor "scalable game studios and tools that improve development, monetization, and live operations" over traditional game development. Companies that solve specific pain points like app store fee reduction (Appcharge) or backend infrastructure (Beamable, Pragma) attract significant investment even in challenging market conditions. The key is demonstrating scalable, sustainable business models with clear paths to profitability.
AI plays multiple critical roles in modern esports technology, from game development to competitive analysis. Companies like General Intuition are building foundational AI models trained on billions of gameplay clips, while Inworld AI provides dynamic NPCs that create more immersive competitive experiences. AI also powers audience discovery and qualification for esports companies, enabling precise targeting of tournament organizers, professional teams, and competitive gaming communities based on real-time signals and behavioral data. The technology is becoming fundamental to both creating and experiencing competitive games.
Geographic diversity is increasingly important in the esports tech ecosystem, as demonstrated by the emergence of Turkey and India as major gaming hubs. Good Job Games in Turkey raised $83 million in just five months, while SuperGaming in India secured $15 million in 2025. This diversification reflects the global nature of competitive gaming and creates opportunities for regional specialization and cost-efficient development. Companies can leverage local market knowledge while competing on the global stage.
Yes, AI-powered platforms like Landbase specialize in helping esports and gaming companies find their ideal customers using natural-language targeting. The platform's database includes 300 million+ contacts and 24 million+ companies with 1,500+ unique signals spanning firmographic, technographic, intent, hiring, and funding data. Users can export up to 10,000 AI-qualified contacts instantly without requiring a login, making it ideal for esports companies looking to accelerate their go-to-market efforts. This precision is particularly valuable in the specialized and competitive gaming market.
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