Real-money skill-gaming company Topdog has raised $2.5 million in seed financing to expand its multiplayer gaming platform and develop additional sports, card and strategy titles.
Boston Seed Capital led the round, with The Raine Group, Bullpen Capital, Versus Ventures, Spoondrift Capital and Permit Ventures also participating. The investment follows a previous $1.6 million pre-seed round led by Lightspeed Venture Partners, taking Topdog’s total funding to $4.1 million.
Topdog plans to direct the new capital toward customer acquisition and the development of more real-time multiplayer games aimed particularly at sports fans. Its model differs from many conventional skill-gaming products by putting players against each other simultaneously rather than having users complete separate sessions before comparing results.
The company’s technology supports matchmaking, player liquidity, payments, fraud detection and live game operations. Topdog says this infrastructure is designed to make real-time competition scalable while ensuring players can quickly find appropriate opponents.
Its existing portfolio includes Basketball Hustle, 21 Hustle, Tilt and Pinfall. In Basketball Hustle, players draft teams and make decisions while competing directly against another user, combining sports strategy with head-to-head gameplay.
Topdog co-founder Aman Agarwal said the company sees an opportunity to give sports fans interactive games outside the limited periods when live sporting events are taking place. The platform is designed for users who already spend time analysing lineups, matchups and strategy but want competitive sports-related gameplay throughout the day.
The company has also attracted several investors with backgrounds in sports betting and gaming. Its backers include FanDuel co-founder Nigel Eccles, Revenant VC founder Ryan Moore and gaming industry consultant Dustin Gouker. Boston Seed Capital, The Raine Group and Bullpen Capital have also previously invested in companies connected to the early development of DraftKings and FanDuel.
Topdog’s latest financing will support its effort to broaden the range of real-money multiplayer games available on its platform and increase adoption of its head-to-head gaming model.