CORRECTION 13/02/2023: This article previously stated that MOGO had acquired the technology. MOGO has executed a Letter of Intent (LOI), but the acquisition has not yet completed.
Indian esports tournament organiser MOGO (Mobile Global Esports) has signed a letter of intent to acquire technology developed by American entrepreneur Nils Lahr and his company OrionsWave.
The technology looks to help MOGO expand its efforts to increase audience participation. Lahr is known for his work on live video streaming technology, helping bring the Beijing Olympics to viewers, and co-founding the Windows Media Division at Microsoft. Lahr won a Technology and Streaming Emmy in 2005 for ‘Streaming Media Architecture’.
MOGO is a full-service esports tournament organiser, organising leagues for third-party clients as well as running its own collegiate system for teams within India. It has been listed on the NASDAQ since July 2022, and raised $5mn (~£4.14) in private equity in late September.
Last week, it appointed Nick Venecia, former CEO of Social Outlier, as its Chief Data Operator in order to consolidate its hold on the Indian collegiate esports market. Venecia commented on his hiring that he would anticipate hard work to help the firm negotiate the new era of internet privacy negotiations in India, which is seemingly increasing internet restrictions to regulate domestic internet use.
Esports is nonetheless big business in India, with a projected value of INR 100bn (~£1bn) according to consultancy firm EY. Its esports scene has largely focused on mobile titles, including Battlegrounds Mobile India (BGMI) and COD Mobile, though BGMI is currently banned in the country. MOGO sits at the foundation of the scene supporting universities.
Mobile Global Esports CEO, Dave Pross, commented: “This letter of intent heralds an important development for MOGO as we continue to assemble the team and underlying technologies for expanding the capabilities and offerings of our esports social media platform.
“The opportunity to work with Nils and acquire rights to his proven gaming, challenge and social betting IP is an exciting development for MOGO and we look forward to consummating this deal.”
