The fund will invest in so-called “synthetic realities” – the worlds of gaming, esports, and interactive media.

BITKRAFT Ventures is a venture capital company that invests in companies and start-ups in the fields of games, media, and esports. BITKRAFT is led by Jens Hilgers, the former ESL CEO and G2 Esports chairman. It announced a raise of $ 165 million for its new fund, exceeding the originally targeted amount of $ 125 million. (ESPN)

Investors in the new fund include Carolwood, the family office of Bruce Karsh; Declaration Partners, the investment firm backed by the family office of David Rubenstein; JS Capital, the investment firm of Jonathan Soros; as well as corporate investors such as Adidas, WPP, Advance, and Logitech.

BITKRAFT Gaming investments

According to TheGamingEconomy, BITKRAFT recently participated in funding for USD$10m in Boom.tv; USD$4.3m in Gamezop; USD$3.5m in Bit Fry Game Studios; USD$10m in Veritas; USD$1m in PatronGG; USD$5m in Ready; and USD$2.5m in Bazooka Tango.

It reportedly now has a portfolio that spans more than 50 companies across North America, Europe, and Asia.

COVID-19

Gaming has turned bullish after COVID-19.

According to a Forbes report, quoted by CrunchBase, gaming is now an industry worth $ 160 billion powered by a participating global audience of 2.7 billion gamers. The report said COVID-19 had pushed up the number of daily active users of HD games by 50%.

“At BITKRAFT, we don’t just support forward-thinking entrepreneurs with capital, but also provide experience, resources, and our global network,” said Jens Hilgers, BITKRAFT Ventures founding general partner, in a written statement. “While we are living in challenging times, our industry is experiencing strong tailwinds and unprecedented opportunities. There is no better time for BITKRAFT to invest.”

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