Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Alibaba invest $12 million in Swedish esports platform Challengermode

Swedish esports platform Challengermode has secured $12 million in funding from a group led by eWTP Innovation Fund, the global investment arm of the Alibaba Group with other investors like Telia Ventures, GP Bullhound, Back in Black Capital and AC Milan striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic. The funding will be be used by the Stockholm-based platform to pursue "international expansion", primarily in the United States. Challengermode is a platform that allows players to find, create and compete in tournaments at the grassroots level as well as the professional level. 

"The investment will make it possible for us to double down on our mission to make esports truly accessible for regular players and tournament organisers while enabling further international expansion and product development," the press release read. 

Robel Efrem, the co-founder and CEO of Challengermode said in the press release that the additional backing will help the organisation to work on their core mission of "delivering the best competitive gaming experience" to each and every player, in any game. 

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Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Alibaba Group invest in Challengermode

Challengermode is the leading organisation in esports platform, having worked with the likes of DreamHack, FIFA and even Fnatic Esports Team. The growing company has also worked with the likes of Google, Microsoft, Ericsson and Spotify in the past. With the esports sector rapidly growing, as a whole, Challengermode expects more and more users to flock to their platform to host events/play tournaments. Efrem says the funding will be used to provide an easily accessible platform for esports events, regardless of player ability or experience. "That means going beyond just making tournaments easy to host to creating a fun and inclusive community."

This is not the first time that Swedish football legend Zlatan Ibrahimovic has invested in his hometown organisation. Back in 2017, when Challengermode was just a budding tech start-up, Ibrahimovic was among the group of investors who raised a total of $1.3 million for the company. Since 2017, the tech company has come leaps and bounds in the world of esports. With more and more gaming titles looking to enter the competitive esports scene, a platform like Challengermode could be in for significant growth in the coming years. Founded in 2014, the platform allows easy access for players to compete like professionals and win prizes ranging from cash to sponsored products.

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Celebrity Net Worth estimates Zlatan's net worth to be in the range of $190 million. Arguably one of best pure strikers of the game, Zlatan Ibrahimovic has played for the likes of Barcelona, Ajax, Juventus, Inter Milan, AC Milan and Manchester United in his long career. Despite touching 38, Ibrahimovic is still playing at the highest level. He rejoined AC Milan in January this year, having previously played for LA Galaxy. Since football resumed in June, AC Milan were one of the most in-form sides in Europe. Ibrahimovic scored 11 times in 20 appearances for AC Milan since returning to the club. 

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(Image Credits: Zlatan Ibrahimovic Instagram)