PandaScore Raises €5m to Enhance Esports Betting through AI-powered Data

PandaScore, a fast growth start-up providing real-time data for the esports betting industry, has raised €5m (£4.6m/$6m) in its latest funding round. The cash injection will be used to expand the company’s team and product portfolio for bookmakers, enabling a bigger, better esports betting experiences.

French start-up PandaScore, which supplies esports bookmakers with AI-powered statistics and odds, today announced that it has raised €5M (£4.6m/$6M) in funding. The round was led by V13 Invest (FDJ x Serena), with other investors in the round being existing investor Alven, sports-tech investor KB Partners and esports owner and investor aXiomatic Gaming.

Esports is estimated to have close to 500 million fans worldwide and the industry accounts for about €846m (£766m/$1bn) in global revenues. However, it still has scope to grow when it comes to esports betting. PandaScore’s real-time AI-powered odds empower betting traders to better leverage this massive entertainment industry.

“Providing game-changing data for bookmakers is our way to fuel the growth of esports” says PandaScore founder and CEO Flavien Guillocheau. “When bookmakers can offer great esports betting it also helps in raising sponsorships for teams and tournaments”.

Collecting data in real-time from ongoing esports matches and from official sources, PandaScore uses its proprietary artificial intelligence to sift out and analyze the most useful pieces of information as it happens. Betting traders gain an edge utilizing machine learning to set better odds and a larger esports offering.

“The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted a significant lack of resilience among traditional bookmakers, who really need to increase their agility…” commented Olivier Martret, principal at Serena “…and this is where PandaScore can help. With FDJ, we are convinced that Pandascore’s tech is a key asset for bookmakers, enabling them to gain new market shares and more efficient and reliable services”.

PandaScore taps into the trend of a new generation tuning in to esports for entertainment and betting just as much as their older peers have done with traditional sports. The trend has only been emphasized by the recent lockdowns in many countries, which have disrupted regular sports more than they have the online gaming esports industry.

Pandascore has recently signed some of the fastest growing companies in the esports entertainment and esports betting industries as clients, including fantasy esports company Sleeper and leading companion App Strafe, esports betting platform Pixelbet and leading LATAM sportsbook BetCris. PandaScore will use the new funding for further expansion, including hiring for the team in Paris and in Malta, as well as to cover more esports titles.

To learn more about how PandaScore tracks and reports esports match stats in real time, please visit their website here https://pandascore.co or follow them on Twitter @PandaScore or you can get in touch with founder Flavien Guillocheau at [email protected]