Copenhagen and London-based esports media company BLAST has secured €12.5 million in a financing round led by entrepreneur Johan Gedda, the co-founder of Rocket Software, and Vækstfonden, an investment vehicle with backing from both the Danish government and the European Investment Bank. Prior backers Creandum, Heartcore (formerly known as Sunstone Capital) and Maki also participated in the round.

BLAST creates esports entertainment – a booming sector in case you haven’t been paying attention – through broadcast studio shows, arena events, and a range of related online content. Aside from its own platform, the startup’s media gets broadcast across global TV networks and digital platforms such as Twitch and YouTube.

Last year, BLAST says it delivered 7 esports events across 5 continents, with a total of 1 billion minutes of broadcast material in 19 different languages. In 2020, BLAST has expanded into multiplayer online battle arena video game DOTA 2 alongside its Counter-Strike: GO tournament series.

Johan Gedda comments on his substantial investment in the young company: “The opportunity to combine and create a deeper technology stack that will evolve the future of esports is one of the reasons I am pleased to partner with BLAST. I am impressed by their plans and look forward to leveraging my experience in the technology space to help grow this exciting and fast-moving business.”