Twitch co-founder invests in ex-Garena manager’s campus gaming startup

AcadArena, a campus gaming platform based in the Philippines, has raised an undisclosed sum as part of its pre-seed funding round led by startup accelerator Iterative.

Photo credit: AcadArena

Hustle Fund also took part in the financing round, along with Twitch co-founder Kevin Lin and executives from Magic, PayMongo, Lazada, and GoodWork. 

The latest investment will help AcadArena develop its current programs and build its digital platform to accommodate newer features related to campus gaming in Southeast Asia.

The startup was founded as a nonprofit in 2019 by Ariane Lim, who previously headed the collegiate program at Garena Philippines, and Justin Banusing, who earlier worked for ESPN and Pipeline. AcadArena enables schools and student organizations to participate in collegiate-level tournaments in the Philippines, and it also helps brands engage with the student community.

“What we’re building at AcadArena is really what we wish we had as students,” said Lim. “More than 80% of students are gamers, but no one is building for them – that’s why we are.”

See also: A16z’s first Philippine bet is shaking up blockchain gaming

The company has partnered with Philippine telecommunications giant Globe Telecom and is officially accredited by publishers like Garena and Riot Games. It is also the regional campus gaming partner for Twitch.

According to AcadArena, over 300 schools in the Philippines use its programs, allowing it to engage more than 100,000 students each year.

In July, Yield Guild Games, a blockchain-powered gaming startup based in the Philippines, sold 25 million of its native YGG cryptocurrency tokens in just 31 seconds, underscoring the growing demand for gaming services in the country.