Bilibili Esports Raises 180 Million Yuan in its Initial Round of Funding

On Jan.14, Bilibili E-sports, part of the eponymous Chinese video streaming platform, raised 180 million yuan in an initial round of funding led by the Zhejiang Chuangxiang Cultural Fund.

Founded in 2018, Bilibili E-sports is deeply involved with the global esports industry. As a popular platform for creators of content protected by intellectual property, the company has built a sustainable esports ecosystem with several businesses spanning from livestreaming, esports competition operations, esports talents brokers, and event organization.

With esports growing increasingly popular among young people – last year’s LOL World Championship held in Shanghai resonated with the public – Bilibili has vowed to bet big on esports. In August 2020, the company secured broadcasting rights for the League of Legends World Championship, the Mid-Season Invitational tournament, and the All-Star event. And producing exclusive live-streaming and esports documentaries for Riot Games’ LoL Esports has further entrenched their reputation among users.

Bilibili is one of several U.S.-listed Chinese companies planning a secondary listing in Hong Kong as the Sino-American relationship touches its lowest-point in decades. According to local news, the firm has submitted a confidential application yesterday, while CNBC quoted sources close to the matter as saying Bilibili aims to raise more than $2 billion this year. The firm is expected to reveal pricing details within the next two months.

SEE ALSO: Chinese Video Platform Bilibili May Look to Launch Own E-payment Service

The firm’s 2020 Q3 revenue reached 3.2 billion yuan – a 74% year-on-year increase – with 1.2 billion coming from mobile games and 413.4 million from its e-commerce segment.

The number of average monthly active users (MAU) for the third quarter was 197.2 million, with a year-on-year surge of 54%. Mobile MAUs reached 183.5 million, up 61% year-on-year, while the average number of daily active users stood at 53.3 million, with a year-on-year increase of 42%. Finally, the number of average monthly paid users was 15 million, a rise of 89% year-on-year.