• by Alex Weprin , December 19, 2018

The world of esports remains something of a wild west for brands, with a number of different leagues, games and distribution split between a slew of streaming, social and traditional video platforms.

A new company, Popdog, is looking to bridge the gap between brands, game publishers, talent, teams and other stakeholders in the space in an effort to professionalize the esports space.

Popdog is launching with $9 million led by Maker’s Fund, joined by Korea Investment Partners. Popdog has also acquired three companies, meant to assist it with different lines of business.

The three companies are: Loaded, a gaming influencer management platform that represents players like Ninja; NoScope, a discovery and analytics tool for Twitch, the live streaming video platform that specializes in esports and gaming content; and the Esports division of Catalyst, which serves as an advisory firm for businesses looking to enter the esports space.

Popdog is being led by a management team that includes esports veterans. CEO Alexander Garfield built the esports companies Evil Geniuses and Alliance, eventually selling their parent company to Twitch. Popdog’s CCO is Garfield’s former colleague Colin DeShong, while its CTO is Andreas Thorstensson, a former world champion “Counter-Strike” player. The CSO is entrepreneur Niles Heron.

Josh Swartz, cofounder of Catalyst Sports & Media, will serve as COO.

“We’re building our company around the core belief that esports and gaming video content, born more from technology than any other sports or entertainment verticals we’ve seen, need better technology in order to be properly understood, monetized, and optimized,” Garfield says.

“The industry needs a back-end, and our mission is to be that back-end by supporting the ecosystem with a comprehensive offering of technology and services."