Chinese gaming and entertainment startup Talon closes $5m Series A funding to accelerate growth

Talon, the Hong Kong headquartered competitive gaming, entertainment and culture brand announced it has secured $5 million in equity capital in its Series A financing round.

The raise was led by leading digital entertainment, blockchain and gamification company Animoca Brands, which participated in Talon's seed round investment in 2018, and other investors including Hana Digital Transformation Fund and HZL Capital. Amongst the new investors joining Talon include AK Partners, Token Bay Capital, Foxmont Capital Partners, Arete Capital Asia, BlackPine, Yieldly, PAC Capital amongst other family offices.  

This investment builds on Talon's recent success, which include quadrupled revenues since 2019, strong social media growth and the delivery of multiple championships across numerous titles since its seed round. Talon currently has competitive rosters in six major game titles across five markets within Asia Pacific.

The PSG Talon League of Legends team has won three titles in the Pacific Championship Series (PCS) in four seasons since 2020 and has represented the region at both MSI (Mid-Season Invitational) and World Championships in every year of competition, placing among the best teams globally. In Thailand, Talon's Arena of Valor roster has won two major domestic titles and clinched a world title in the form of the Arena of Valor World Cup in July 2021. Additionally, Talon fields teams in Dota 2, Overwatch Contenders, Rainbow Six Siege, Tekken 7 and Street Fighter V.

Xiao (Sean) Zhang, CEO, Talon: "Together with our strategic partners and investors, I'm very excited to be entering the next chapter of TALON's journey. We will continue to add to the trophy cabinet while building an entertainment and culture platform that will allow us to connect ever more deeply with our fans. We are also extremely excited to leverage cutting-edge technology alongside Animoca Brands to develop new ways to engage with fans."

Talon boasts over 25 million followers across its combined social platforms. With the capital raised Talon will continue to grow its lifestyle and cultural platform focusing on working with fashion labels, KOLs, musicians and traditional sports athletes to deliver entertainment to the next generation of youth, targeting Gen Z and millennials.

As part of this strategy, a strong focus will be placed into the development of digital and blockchain solutions alongside Animoca Brands to deliver unique experiences, collectibles and opportunities via different metaverses, P2E games and NFT platforms. Additionally, Talon will further expand its regional footprint into South East Asia, focusing on the Philippines, Vietnam and Indonesia and compete in the biggest gaming titles in each respective country.

Yat Siu, Executive Chairman and Co-founder, Animoca Brands: "Talon is a great example of how the communities of esports and gaming are converging on blockchain and making use of NFTs. We look forward to working with Talon and the many companies in our investments portfolio in order to bridge these communities and take us one step closer to making the open metaverse a reality."

www.talon.gg
www.animocabrands.com