Youth esports platform Vanta has raised over $2.5m (~£2.26m) in an oversubscribed seed round.
The funds will be used to expand Vanta’s youth esports leagues in the United States, further develop its esports platform and improve its esports coaching.
The seed round was oversubscribed, meaning that Vanta actually raised more money than it needed and initially planned on raising, a rare occasion in business in general, not to mention esports. Combining the latest funding round, Vanta has raised in total $3.3m (~£3m).
Founded in 2020, Vanta has been focusing on providing scholastic esports teams with tools to grow and create professional environments for their players. Vanta also offers free-to-enter leagues for kids. The company is also the official esports sponsor of the University Interscholastic League of Texas, and is a partner of the Georgia Association of Private and Parochial Schools, alongside other educational associations.
Vanta recently launched a new youth esports league with women’s esports platform Raidiant, operated by Dignitas’ parent company New Meta Entertainment. The two leagues consist of VALORANT and Rocket League competitions, as well as a coaching curriculum.
Vanta is a part of a saturated youth esports market in the United States, which in itself is not without controversy. Notably, high school esports platform PlayVS faced criticism for shutting out competitors, some of which are nonprofit institutions.
Patrick Cronin, CEO and co-founder of Vanta, commented: “We can get the esports train back on track and turn it into one of the most important and powerful tools for positive social-emotional development in kids.
“The reality is, venture backed companies have made a bad name for themselves in this space, and we are here to show schools that it’s not the source of your funding that matters, but rather, the presence of a greater purpose beyond profit.”
