Jens Hilgers | |
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Born | 1975 (age 47–48) Cologne, Germany |
Nationality | German |
Occupation | Entrepreneur |
Years active | 1997–present |
Jens Hilgers (born 1975) is a German entrepreneur who works in the esports industry. He was the founding CEO of the esports production company Electronic Sports League (ESL), [1] [2] and is a co-founder and the CEO of Bayes (formerly Dojo Madness), an esports data company based in Berlin. In 2014, he co-founded G2 Esports together with Carlos "Ocelot" Rodriguez, and currently serves as its chairman. [3] [4] He is also the founding general partner of BITKRAFT Ventures, a global early and mid-stage investment platform for gaming, esports, and a new technology named Web3. [5] [6] [7] [8] He has been credited as an early pioneer of the esports industry. [9]
Jens Hilgers, a German native, was born in the city of Cologne in 1975. He pursued his academic education in the field of software development and successfully completed his studies in 1998. Hilgers attributes his fondness for product development to his childhood exposure to the plastic construction toy Lego and the Amiga 500 computer. [10]
Hilgers began his esports career in 1997. While in college, he built Gamers.de, a news portal for online PC games; Later he launched the first German Clan League and created Gamers Gathering, a European LAN-Party. [11]
In 2000, Hilgers founded Turtle Entertainment GmbH, based in Cologne, Germany. Turtle Entertainment is the parent company of the Electronic Sports League (ESL), one of the world's largest esports organizations. Hilgers served as the CEO of the company until 2010, at which point he transitioned to chairman of the board. During his ten-year tenure as CEO, Hilgers helped expand the company into becoming a major brand that contributed to the esports industry. [12] The company operates online platforms and TV studios that broadcast tournaments in the gaming industry. [13] [14] In 2015, when Hilgers was the chairman of ESL, Modern Times Group purchased a majority stake in the company for $86 million. [1] Furthermore, Hilgers served as CEO at GIGA Digital Television GmbH and co-owns G2 Esports, a competitive esports team located in Berlin, Germany. [15] [16] In 2022, ESL was acquired in whole by the Saudi Arabian SAVVY Games Group,a subsidiary of the PIF for 1.050.000.000 US$ and marked Hilgers’ final exit from the business, yet also made it Germany’s first Gaming Company to see a Unicorn Exit. [17]
In 2014, Hilgers founded Bayes (formerly Dojo Madness), an esports startup based in Berlin, Germany. Bayes pioneered AI-based Esports coaching with its League of Legends Coaching APP LOLSUMO and moved to become a provider for professional esports data in partnership with Sport Radar. [18] In 2017, under the leadership of Raine Ventures and participation from Kakao's K Cube Ventures and investors, Dojo raised a total of $12.75 million in another round of funding. [19] In 2020, Bayes announced the closing of a $6 million funding round, which included participation from the Pohlad Family investment group, Fertitta Capital, Sony Innovation Fund, and other sports and media investors. [20]
In 2015, Hilgers co-founded G2 Esports (formerly Gamers2), one of the leading global esports and entertainment brands, alongside League of Legends player-turned-team owner, Carlos ‘Ocelot’ Rodriguez. [21] Since its inception, G2 Esports has raised $27.3M, including a $10M investment round from Joseph Tsai. [22] The European esports organization is headquartered in Berlin, Germany, with players competing in games like League of Legends, Valorant, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, Hearthstone, Rocket League, Rainbow Six Siege, and Sim Racing. [23]
In 2015, Jens Hilgers launched the company BITKRAFT Ventures, a global investment platform for gaming and Web3. BITKRAFT has been the most active gaming venture capital firm and lead investor in 2020 and 2021, according to research from Invest Game [24] and Drake Star Partners. [25] As of April 2023, BITKRAFT Ventures has $830 million in assets under management and has expanded its footprint to Asia. [8]
Modern Times Group (MTG) is a digital entertainment company based in Stockholm, Sweden. It formed from the media holdings of investment company Kinnevik, which in 1997 was distributed to the company stockholders. It is a strategic and operational investment holding company, managing a portfolio including gaming companies InnoGames, Ninja Kiwi and Kongregate, and digital network company Zoomin.TV.
Jaeson Ma is an American serial entrepreneur, artist, and media executive. He is the founder of the east-west talent, brand strategy & investment firm East West Ventures, a co-founder of 88rising, and a co-founder of Stampede Ventures, chairman and co-founder of broadcast production and distribution company EST Media Holdings, and its subsidiary ventures: EST Studios,, Eastern Standard Times, and OP3N,. He is also a member of Milken Institute - Young Leaders Circle (YLC). Ma has also been featured in Variety 500.
500 Global is an early-stage venture fund and seed accelerator founded in 2010 by Dave McClure and Christine Tsai. The fund admitted a first "class" of twelve startups to its incubator office in Mountain View, California in February 2011. They expanded to a second class of 21 in June 2011 and a third class of 34 in October 2011.
Xsolla is a global video game commerce company headquartered in Sherman Oaks, Los Angeles, California. It was founded in 2005 by Aleksandr Agapitov, and is incorporated with subsidiaries globally.
The ESL Gaming GmbH, doing business as ESL, is a German esports organizer and production company that produces video game competitions worldwide. ESL was the world's largest esports company in 2015, and the oldest that is still operational. Based in Cologne, Germany, ESL has eleven offices and multiple international TV studios globally. ESL is the largest esports company to broadcast on Twitch.
Skillz is an online mobile multiplayer video game competition platform that is integrated into a number of iOS and Android games. The Skillz platform helps developers create franchises by enabling social competition in their games. Skillz has over 14,000 game developers who launched a game integration on the platform. Skillz hosts billions of casual esports tournaments for millions of mobile players worldwide.
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FaZe Clan, or simply FaZe, is a professional esports and entertainment organization headquartered in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded on May 30, 2010, as FaZe Sniping, the organization has players from around the world, across multiple games, including Call of Duty, Counter-Strike 2, PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds, Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Siege, Halo Infinite,Valorant, Fortnite Battle Royale,Rocket League, and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. In 2020, the organization expanded into the Asian market, acquiring a Thai PUBG Mobile and EA Sports FC (Online) roster.
FunPlus is a video game developer and publisher headquartered in Switzerland, with operations in China, Singapore and Spain. The company has developed the following mobile games: State of Survival, King of Avalon, Guns of Glory, and Call of Antia.
Azubu was a live streaming esports website. In May 2017, it shut down and was succeeded by Smashcast.
Eldridge Industries LLC is an American holding company headquartered in Greenwich, Connecticut, with offices in New York City, London, and Beverly Hills. Eldridge makes investments in various industries including insurance, asset management, technology, sports, media, real estate, and the consumer sector.
FACEIT is an esports platform founded in London in 2012. The company has administered leagues for games such as Counter-Strike 2, League of Legends, Rocket League, Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Siege, Dota 2 and Team Fortress 2.
GoMeta is an American software company headquartered in San Diego. The company was founded by Dmitry Shapiro, Sean Thielen, and Jonathan Miller in September 2016. GoMeta's Koji platform lets non-technical individuals create and publish mini apps, progressive web applications that run on all devices and operating systems, and embed inside of social networks and messengers.
The ESL Pro League is a Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) professional esports league, produced by ESL. It was previously based on four regions: Europe, the Americas, Asia, and Oceania but following a format revamp in season 13, regional leagues were discontinued and unified into one league. ESL Pro League currently comprises 32 teams each season, including 15 Permanent Partner Teams. The ESL Pro League is considered to be the premier professional CS:GO league in the world and is one of the major professional leagues in esports. The ESL Pro League began as a venture between the Electronic Sports League (ESL) and E-Sports Entertainment Association League (ESEA). Its inaugural season started on May 4, 2015.
List of events in 2018 in esports.
Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment LLC (HBSE) is an American sports and venue management company. The company owns and operates the Philadelphia 76ers, the New Jersey Devils, the Prudential Center, the Delaware Blue Coats of the NBA G League, the Utica Comets of the American Hockey League, and the esports organization Dignitas, among other brands. It also holds a minority stake in the NASCAR team Joe Gibbs Racing. HBSE was founded by 76ers and Devils owners Josh Harris and David Blitzer in September 2017. The company is headquartered in Camden, New Jersey, and was valued at $4.65 billion in 2023.
Professional Counter-Strike competition involves professional gamers competing in the first-person shooter game series Counter-Strike. The original game, released in 1999, is a mod developed by Minh "Gooseman" Le and Jess Cliffe of the 1998 video game Half-Life, published by Valve. Currently, the games that have been played competitively include Counter-Strike, Counter-Strike: Condition Zero (CS:CZ), Counter-Strike: Source (CS:S) and Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO). Major esports championships began in 2001 with the Cyberathlete Professional League Winter Championship, won by Ninjas in Pyjamas.
Donn Davis is an American venture capitalist and entrepreneur. He is founder, chairman and co-owner of the Professional Fighters League, co-owner of e-sports team Team Liquid and founding partner of the investment firm Revolution LLC.
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Moritz Baier-Lentz is a German-American venture capitalist. He is a partner and the head of gaming at Lightspeed Venture Partners, leading the firm's investments in game studios, platforms, and technologies. Previously, Baier-Lentz was a vice president in the investment banking division of Goldman Sachs, where he founded and led the firm's global gaming practice. A former #1 ranked competitive player of Diablo II, he has invested over $100 million into entrepreneurs who have been leading the creation of video games like Fortnite, Call of Duty, League of Legends, Halo, Destiny, Overwatch, Valorant, Apex Legends, Sky, StarCraft II, and Warcraft III.