Paris-based esports data provider PandaScore has raised €5m in a new funding round led by FDJ’s venture capital fund.
PandaScore offers AI-powered statistics and odds to esports bookmakers, with the new funding earmarked to drive further expansion, including growing its teams in Paris and Malta and the range of esports covered.
The funding round was led by V13 Invest, FDJ’s venture capital fund managed by Serena, with other participants including existing investor Alven, sports-tech investor KB Partners, and esports owner and investor aXiomatic Gaming.
“Providing game-changing data for bookmakers is our way to fuel the growth of esports,” said PandaScore founder and CEO Flavien Guillocheau. “When bookmakers can offer great esports betting it also helps in raising sponsorships for teams and tournaments.”
Collecting data in real-time from ongoing esports matches and from official sources, PandaScore uses its proprietary AI to sift out and analyze the most useful pieces of information as it happens.
“The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted a significant lack of resilience among traditional bookmakers, who really need to increase their agility and this is where PandaScore can help,” said Olivier Martret, principal at Serena. “With FDJ, we are convinced that Pandascore’s tech is a key asset for bookmakers, enabling them to gain new market shares and more efficient and reliable services.”
Pandascore has recently signed a number of deals in the esports sector, including fantasy esports company Sleeper and leading companion App Strafe, esports betting platform Pixelbet and Latin America-facing sportsbook BetCris.