Razer reportedly closed a funding round from Intel that values the company at $1 billion

Razer CEO Min-Liang Tan at Tech in Asia’s Startup Asia Singapore 2014

Razer is no longer just a brand for gamers, by gamers. News of a funding round from Intel Capital, closed at a valuation of US$1 billion, came in this morning via an internal memo leaked to TechCrunch.

The funding comes in the wake of Razer moving towards a mainstream audience. The gaming brand, once known for its peripherals, has in recent years developed lifestyle products, like its own Razer Blade gaming laptop line as well as the upcoming Nabu smart band.

Its peripherals have also taken a turn from the mean-and-moody Razer green and black to bright colors not commonly embraced by the gamer set. Most recently, Razer even commissioned the creation of four anime girl mascots to market its colored Kraken Chroma headsets in Japan.

A report on the Wall Street Journal says that Razer has shipped 11 million connected devices. The company has been hard at work developing its own software, and even recently announced the game platform-cum-performance booster, the Razer Cortex, as well as an Android-powered micro-console.

According to TechCrunch, this is the first round raised in Razer in years, with its last announced round being US$50 million in 2011 from IDG and Accel via their joint China fund.

Tech in Asia’s approached both Intel Capital and Razer to verify the investment. Both declined to comment.