Cloud9, an eSports organization founded by Jack Etienne and his wife, Paullie Etienne was and still is a family business. This small family business soon grew and eventually became an organization large enough to have a team in many eSports games such as League of Legends, CS:GO, Player’s Unknown Battleground and Overwatch just to name a few.
Proud to see @Cloud9 included on this list! https://t.co/LCcr0Kpu0o
— Jack Etienne (@JackEtienne) October 15, 2018
Series A Funding
Around October last year, Cloud9 announced that they managed to close a $25 million USD Series A funding. Even investors from the traditional sports world such as Wizards co-owner Raul Fernandez, had started to see the value in investing in an eSports company. This in turn allowed Jack to invest in outfitting their training facilities and housing for their players.
Cloud9 at that point also bought a slot in the Overwatch League with London as the home city for the Overwatch team. Aptly named, London Spitfire, the Overwatch team emerged champions for the inaugural season of the Overwatch League.
With London Spitfire doing extremely well, Cloud 9’s League of Legends team also recently made a miracle run out of World’s Championship 2018 Group Stages (More on that coming soon!). So what’s next for Cloud9? Why, more Series funding of course.
Series B Funding
On 15th October 2018, just after Cloud9 got out of the Group Stages for Worlds 2018 and now are the 2nd Seed entering Quarter finals, Cloud9 announced that they managed to raise $50 Million in Series B funding. This round of funding was led by Valor Equity Partners and its Managing Partner Antonio Gracias has joined Cloud9’s Board of Directors.
Cloud9 will use the funding to establish a 20k – 30k square foot facility in Los Angeles, expected to be completed around early 2019. This facility will not only serve as a practice hub for Cloud 9’s many teams, but will also bring all of the team’s managers and staff under one roof, increasing strength in an already strong organization.
With all the staff and team under one roof, Cloud9 also aims to facilitate youth esports. According to Dan Fiden, Cloud9’s president, the facility is akin to a traditional sports “Little League”. Younger players can come and receive coaching in a team environment, fostering younger players to work together.
This family business have certainly grown and is now an organization well-known to many eSports fans. With many things going well for Cloud9, we are very excited for the future of Cloud9 and to see what comes out of this Series B funding.
