Esports production and tournament organiser Versus Programming Network (VSPN) has raised $100 million through a Series B funding round.
Chinese tech giant Tencent led the investment. Further investors included Tiantu Capital, Susquehanna International Group and Kuaishou. Meanwhile, the financial investor of the funding round was Lighthouse Capital.
"Tencent is glad to support VSPN," said Tencent Esports general manager Mars Hou.
"VSPN's long-term company vision and leading position in esports production is vital for Tencent to optimise the layout of the esports industry's development."
The Series B round is not the first time that Tencent has backed VSPN, as the Chinese firm invested in the Hero Entertainment-owned company back in 2018.
Getting competitive
In China, VSPN has become the go-to esports tournament organiser and broadcaster for many of the country's top games, including Honor of Kings, PUBG Mobile, Clash Royale, Peacekeeper Elite and CrossFire.
"We are delighted to announce this latest round of funding," said VSPN CEO Dino Ying.
"Thanks to policies supporting Shanghai as the global centre for esports, and with Beijing, Chengdu, and Xi'an expressing confidence in the development of esports, VSPN has grown rapidly in recent years.
"After this funding round, we look forward to building an esports research institute, an esports culture park, and further expanding globally. VSPN has a long-term vision and is dedicated to the sustainable development of the global esports ecosystem."
Currently, the esports firm has over 1,000 employees across five different business divisions.