Streaming firm Hitbox secures $4m in investment

The latest player in the streaming market has secured $4m in funding.

Vienna-based Hitbox raised this in a new round of investment which will help it expand its North American operation and worldwide reach.

This funding was led by Austrian venture capital firm SpeedInvest, with publisher Wargaming, North Base Media, and angel investors also ponying up cash. This follows another round of funding that closed at the end of 2014, and raised $1m.

As a result, Wargaming’s chief strategy officer Sean Lee will be joining Hitbox’s board of investors.

While many of our peers thought there was no room for a new competitor next to the industry giants in this space, we were right to focus on technological innovation and foster a friendly and dynamic community of gamers, which has helped us to grow to more than 6 million dedicated fans in less than two years,” said Hitbox’s CEO and co-founder Martin Klimscha.

We are huge fans of Wargaming, and we welcome them as an investor and partner who share our vision of taking video game livestreaming to the next level. Speedinvest has been an extraordinary partner since our initial seed round and this investment strengthens our relationship as we prepare to expand our operations and visibility.”

Speedinvest CEO Oliver Holle added: eSports is an exploding market and Hitbox is the top contender to win market share from previous monopolist Twitch and others. With Hitbox’s laser focus on the gaming community and its superior technology, we see nothing but growth.”