Esports coaching isn’t just for pros. Big data startup DOJO Madness offers training tools for players of all ranks.
Founded only two years ago, DOJO boasts more than one million monthly active users for its coaching app series, SUMO. That’s reason enough for Raine Ventures, the venture capital arm of the Raine Group bank, to lead a $6 million heavy investment round.
In participation with Korean early-stage VC K Cube Ventures and existing investors, including March Capital and DN Capital, Raine Ventures’ $6 million Series A II raises DOJO’s total funding to $12.75 million.
Following the investment, DOJO wants to expand its business to Southeast Asia.
“Raine Ventures is an excellent fit for DOJO Madness because of their specific sports and entertainment focus, as well as their access to Asia,” said Jens Hilgers, the CEO of DOJO Madness. “Asia is a key market for us as we continue to execute on further scaling our products, and Raine, with its network of relationships and deep partnerships, will be an invaluable partner to us.”
Hilgers has been around in esports for two decades. He is the founder and former CEO of ESL, and sits on its supervisory board. He is also co-owner of G2 Esports and serial investor in multiple other esports-related companies.
DOJO’s flagship product is the SUMO coaching app series, available for League of Legends, Dota 2, and Overwatch, where players receive data analytics for their games. The LOLSUMO app is among the best-rated League coaching apps on both the App Store and Google Play.
The startup also offers Shadow.GG, a software-as-a-service platform providing analytics and data visualizations for pro teams. Just recently, DOJO expanded its product portfolio by acquiring esports training platform leaguecoaching.gg and adding its founder, esports coach Weldon Green, to the company.
