TSM sponsor FTX raise $420m from 69 investors

FTX, a crypto exchange that serves as the naming sponsor of North American esports organization TSM, has raised $420m in funding from 69 investors. To be precise, they raised $420,690,000. Nice.

FTX have made waves in very little time across sports and esports — sponsoring the likes of esports org TSM, the LCS, Mercedes’ Formula 1 team, and Major League Baseball (MLB) — in part due to the astronomical growth of crypto over the past couple of years.

The crypto exchange raised $900m in July 2021 and were subsequently valued at an eye-watering $18b. Now, they’ve raised an additional $420,690,000 in investment capital as part of a Series B funding round.

It’s clear that FTX are happy to lean into internet culture and memes, much like technology entrepreneur Elon Musk, even in such an important deal, as it’s no accident that they’ve accepted the funding from exactly 69 investors.

They made a name for themselves in esports back in June 2021 through a 10-year naming sponsorship with TSM that’s worth $210m. The org are now known as TSM FTX and the deal is believed to be the biggest the industry has seen to date.

• Read More: TSM FTX exec explains Japan expansion: “We are trying to build up a global presence”

FTX expanded their footprint in competitive gaming shortly after by sponsoring the LCS, North America’s premier League of Legends esports competition, in a seven-year agreement.

As with the previous investment in July, the newly raised money will allow the crypto exchange to continue with their plans for aggressive plans, presumable sponsoring more companies they see as a sound fit for their company, and to “expand into new jurisdictions.”

“FTX is forging the way to create a modern financial system,” said ICONIQ founding partner Divesh Makan, one of the 69 investors. “We admire Sam and the FTX team’s laser focus on product and user experience which we believe has been core to FTX’s success as a leading global crypto exchange.

“We are thrilled to partner with them as they leverage their underlying infrastructure to expand into broader financial services and become the exchange of everything.”