To build student gaming communities in Philippines, US $3.5 M secured by AcadArena
AcadArena, a business that creates student gaming communities around the Philippines, has received a seed investment round of US $3.5 million (PHP176 million).
The seed round attracted more than 50 investors from well-known companies throughout the world. They include Kevin Lin (co-founder of Twitch), Holly Liu (co-founder of Kabam), Patrick Lee (co-founder of Rotten Tomatoes), Kun Gao (co-founder of Crunchyroll), Jeffrey “Jihoz” Zirlin (co-founder of Sky Mavis, which owns Axie Infinity), and Yat Siu (co-founder of Sky Mavis, which owns Axie Infinity) (co-founder of Animoca Brands).
The money will go toward team expansion, purchasing new play-to-earn assets, product development, and strategic collaborations for the Iloilo City-based firm. AcadArena also wants to expand campus gaming communities across Southeast Asia and provide students with the skills they need to become global citizens in a rapidly changing environment.
AcadArena, which was founded in February 2019 by Ariane Lim, Kevin Hoang, and Justin Banusing, began as a community effort before evolving into a firm that offers e-sports scholarships.
AcadArena’s present focus is on creating student gaming communities around the Philippines and Southeast Asia, as well as educating young people about web3 and the metaverse. It also helps excellent student gamers graduate by providing financial aid and play-to-earn scholarships.
AcadArena claims to have a presence in over 500 colleges in the Philippines, with 150,000 students enrolled in its gaming and esports communities. It has also aided in the formation of student gaming and e-sports organisations at several of the country’s most prestigious universities, including Ateneo, UPD, UST, and La Salle.
AcadArena is also the official college licensee for Riot Games games in the Philippines, as well as a Globe Telecom campus gaming partner.
In mid-2021, AcadArena began a large play-to-earn initiative, with cooperation with Filipino-led decentralised gaming guild (Yield Guild Games), educating college students on web3 technologies while securely and expertly earning money through crypto games.
“We’re honestly just building what we wish we had when we were students. Growing up, gaming was thought to be a waste of time, but now we’re able to provide students with opportunities to connect, earn and succeed through gaming. I am confident that we will be able to reach out to millions more students and validate their passion for games,” said co-founder Kevin Hoang.
“As play to earn revolutionises the ownership model of games, we see guilds becoming an increasingly critical part of the emerging metaverse economy,” says 1KX co-founder Lasse Clausen. “We believe that player talent, not capital, will be the key resource across play to earn games. Because AcadArena focuses on onboarding universities and student clubs around the world, we believe it is uniquely positioned to become a landmark guild over the coming years.”
