AcadArena, a Philippine-based college gaming platform, has raised an unknown amount in a pre-seed fundraising round spearheaded by startup accelerator Iterative.
Along with Twitch co-founder Kevin Lin and executives from Magic, PayMongo, Lazada, and GoodWork, Hustle Fund participated in the funding round.
AcadArena will use the funds to expand its present initiatives and expand its digital platform to incorporate additional campus gaming features throughout Southeast Asia.
Ariane Lim, who previously led the collegiate program at Garena Philippines, and Justin Banusing, who previously worked for ESPN and Pipeline, created the foundation in 2019. AcadArena allows schools and student organizations in the Philippines to compete in collegiate-level tournaments, as well as helping brands engage with the student community.
“What we’re creating at AcadArena is exactly what we wished for as students,” Lim added. Publishers such as Garena and Riot Games have formally authorized the company, which has teamed with Philippine telecoms giant Globe Telecom. Twitch uses it as a regional college gaming partner.
AcadArena claims that its programs are used by over 300 schools in the Philippines, allowing it to reach over 100,000 students each year.
Yield Guild Games, a Philippines-based blockchain-powered gaming firm, sold 25 million of its native YGG cryptocurrency tokens in just 31 seconds in July, demonstrating the country’s growing demand for gaming services.