Esports developer Nerd Street Gamers raises $12 million in funding

Nerd Street Gamers, a Philadelphia-based developer of local training and competition facilities for esports, raised $12 million in Series A funding.

Why it matters: Esports has been growing ahead of its physical infrastructure, so back-build is needed to protect existing investments — both on the professional and amateur sides.

• Discount retailer Five Below led and was joined by return backers Comcast, SeventySix Capital and Elevate Capital.

The bottom line: "As part of the deal, Five Below and Nerd Street Gamers will build 3,000-square-foot Localhost spaces connected to select Five Below locations, beginning with a multi-store pilot in 2020. Based on what they learn from the pilot, the companies will determine future rollout plans, which could include 70 or more locations over the next several years," ⁠writes Dean Takahashi of VentureBeat.