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By Pat Evans
Mobile game developer and publisher GreenPark Sports has secured a $14 million Series A round — and a multi-year deal with the NBA.
The company was founded in 2018 by YouTube co-founder Chad Hurley, Zappos co-founder Nick Swinmurn and BLITZ co-founder Ken Martin in an effort to “reimagine the role of today’s digitally-native fan.”
Along with existing investors SignalFire and Sapphire Sport, the Series A round included:
- Sinclair Broadcasting
- Steve Chen, co-founder of YouTube
- John Burbank, Passport Capital
- Courtney Reum, co-founder of investment group M13
- Galaxy Interactive
- ADvantage
“May the best fan win.”
Users will be able to compete in challenges against other NBA team fans, with avatars outfitted in NBA gear, in “the metaverse for sports fans” when the app launches in early 2021.
GreenPark is also launching a similar game in partnership with the League of Legends Championship Series next year.
Big Opportunity: Mobile accounted for 60% of the global video game market in 2019, generating $49 billion in revenue from 1.36 billion gamers. The segment is projected to grow to $56.6 billion by 2024.
