Korea e-sports player DRX secures $22.5m

The $10 million investment was provided by Seoul Investment Partners, Quantum Venture Korea, Shinhan Capital, Wonik Investment Partners, and Devsisters Ventures. They were joined by Korea-listed JS Corporation, a manufacturer of luxury handbags for global brands including Burberry and Ralph Lauren.

Separately, Bae Yong-joon, a popular actor recognized as a key figure of the Korean wave, has joined DRX as a shareholder and strategic advisor on global branding.

ATU, which is investing alongside its parent company Kibo Steel, acquired control of DRX last year. This was followed by the launch of a $17 million e-sports fund in December touted as the first of its kind in Asia. LPs in the ATU Esports Growth Fund include Woori Technology Investment and SB Partners, as well as industry players such as Kakao Games and The E&M. 

"The e-sports industry has been growing rapidly at 30% year on year over the last couple of years," Jamie Park, CEO of ATU, said in a statement at the time of the fund launch. "Followed by the investment boom in K-pop and K-beauty, we forecast that e-sports will become the next big investment trend capturing Korea's strength in the industry."

DRX, previously known as Kingzone Dragon X, organizes e-sports tournaments and manages a professional team for the game League of Legends. The company claims to use a proprietary big data analysis system to support team training and player discovery.

According to a release, DRX has the third-highest global viewership for League of Legends competition broadcasts. The fresh capital will be used to improve facilities for players, advance a global content and marketing drive, and launch a Legends Champions Korea competition. 

Goldman Sachs estimates that global e-sports revenue will hit $3 billion by 2022, up from $655 million in 2017. Gross advertising revenue for e-sports events is expected to see annual growth of 25% between 2018 and 2022 when it will reach $429 million. Sponsorship revenue during this period is projected to grow from $342 million to $1.1 billion.

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