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Skillz (company)

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Skillz Inc.
Company typePublic company
NYSE: SKLZ
Founded2012; 12 years ago (2012)
HeadquartersLas Vegas, Nevada, U.S.
Key people
Andrew Paradise
(Chairman & CEO)
Ian Lee (CFO)
RevenueIncrease US$73.335 Million (Skillz Announces Q2 2022 Results)[1]
Decrease –US$54.111 Million (Skillz Announces Q2 2022 Results)[1]
Decrease –US$60.611 Million (Skillz Announces Q2 2022 Results)[1]
Total assetsIncrease US$858.903 Million (Skillz Announces Q2 2022 Results)[1]
Total equityIncrease US$55.649 Million (Skillz Announces Q2 2022 Results)[1]
Number of employees
252 (April, 2023)[2]
Websitehttp://skillz.com/
Skillz
Launch dateMarch 2012
Platform(s)iOS and Android
StatusActive
Websiteskillz.com

Skillz is an online mobile multiplayer video game competition platform that is integrated into a number of iOS and Android games.[3][4] 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.[5]

The company is headquartered in Las Vegas and has offices in San Mateo, Seattle, Vancouver and Los Angeles. Skillz organized over 2 billion tournament entries for 30 million mobile players worldwide, and distributes over $60 million in prizes each month. In 2020, the company became the first publicly-traded mobile esports platform.

History

[edit]

Skillz was founded in 2012 by Andrew Paradise and Casey Chafkin in Boston,[6][7] though the company's headquarters is now located in Las Vegas.[8]

Through different rounds of funding, Skillz has raised $53 million from venture capitalists including Liberty Global, Telstra, Accomplice, Wildcat Capital, as well as the owners of the New England Patriots, Milwaukee Bucks, New York Mets, and Sacramento Kings.[9][10][11]

By June 2015, Skillz had launched 550 games and partnered with 1,100 game studios, and reached $20 million in gross marketplace volume.[3] In 2016, the company launched bracketed tournaments on the platform.[12]

In December 2017, Skillz's growth rate was 50,000%.[13] In the same year, Skillz hired its one hundredth full-time employee.[14] As of September 2017, 33% of Skillz's engineering team were women.[15]

In April 2018, Skillz doubled its revenue run-rate to $200 million in nine months, with more than one million tournaments per day.[16][17] At the same year in September, the revenue rate grew to $400 million.[18]

In 2019, the company held a contest for mobile esports games developers with $25,000-prize for the winner to traffic to the game, with launch and optimization services provided by Skillz business and game design experts.[19]

In February 2021, Skillz and the NFL partnered to develop a new NFL-themed mobile game.[20]

In August 2021, the company partnered with multiplayer tech company Exit Games with permanent access to the company’s technology, and invested $50 million for a minority stake in Exit Games.[21]

In 2021, Skillz generated over $2 billion in gross marketplace volume, over 3 million monthly active users, and hosted an average of over 6 million daily tournaments, including 1.5 million paid entry daily tournaments offering over $100 million in prizes each month.

At the start of 2022, Skillz revenue rate grew to 61% and gross profit rose 56% year over year.[22]

In February 2024, Skillz was awarded a $42.9 million judgement against rival AviaGames for patent infringement.[23]

Software

[edit]

The Skillz platform integrates into mobile games to provide esports-related features.[24][25] Skillz facilitates matching players with one another based on their skill levels.[5][26] Players can also record or stream their games via the platform.[27][28] Skillz currently has 30 million users registered on the platform, around 14,000 developer partners.[29][4] As such, Skillz has hosted a billion of tournaments.[3] On a daily basis, Skillz runs two million tournaments per day for games such as Solitaire Cube, Bubble Shooter, and Dominoes.[30][5] Skillz has hosted over 800 million tournaments.[31] Of its users, roughly half are men and half are women.[32]

Games

[edit]

There are over 800 games of various genres games that have the Skillz multiplayer platform integrated onto them. Tether Studios is one such developer of Skillz games, which uses the Skillz platform to add a cash-rewarded competition element to their Solitaire Cube game, leading to increased player retention.[33][34] Another game studio on the Skillz platform is Big Run, with games such as Big Cooking and Blackout Bingo.[35]

Mergers & Acquisitions

[edit]

In August 2020, Skillz and Flying Eagle Acquisition Corp., a publicly-traded special purpose acquisition company, merged a business combination that resulted in Skillz becoming a publicly-listed company.[36][37]

In June 2021, Skillz acquired for $150 million Aarki, a technology-driven marketing platform, to create an integrated esports advertising platform. Aarki’s demand-side platform was reaching 465 million monthly active users before being acquired by Skillz.[38]

In August 2021, Skillz acquired a minority stake in Exit Games for $50 million.

Founded in 2004, Hamburg-based Exit Games created a real-time multiplayer and cloud service called Photon used by developers for creating and hosting real-time multiplayer games. Photon also partners with EA, Square Enix and Ubisoft, and has 24 million users. Photon engine will be used by Skillz to power its platform and esports tournaments.[21]

Social responsibility

[edit]

In March 2018, Skillz signed a partnership with breast cancer organization Susan G. Komen to host a special charity tournament. During the tournament, Skillz raised over $120,000 for the organization, including participants from 38 states as well as over 60 countries.[39][40]

In October 2019, the company together with the American Red Cross launched a fundraising tournament to help 200,000 victims of the California wildfires and raised $40,000.[41][42][43]

In June 2020, Skillz hosted "Gaming for Good" tournaments to raise money for NAACP Empowerment Programs and used in the charity's mission to get equal rights and put a stop to racism.[44] In July of the same year, the company partnered with Comic Relief US to host fundraising tournaments for Red Nose Day. The raised money was intended to help kids in need affected by the COVID-19 crisis.[45]

In 2022, Skillz and American Cancer Society (ACS) launched a competitive mobile games tournament in support of Coaches vs. Cancer, a partnership between ACS and the National Association of Basketball Coaches. The campaign held for three weeks starting March 20 and spotlighted three former NCAA coaching legends: Jim Calhoun, Bobby Cremins from the College of Charleston, Georgia Tech and Appalachian State, and Lon Kruger.[46]

Investments

[edit]

In 2012, Skillz was founded by Andrew Paradise and Casey Chafkin. In 2013, the company raised $5.5 million in a Series A funding round led by Atlas Venture and the Founders Fund.[47]

In 2015, Skillz secured $15 million in a Series B funding round led by David Bonderman's TPG Growth. This investment allows Skillz to accelerate its growth and expand its user base.[48]

In 2017, the platform raised $25 million in a Series C funding round led by Telstra Ventures. The funds are primarily used to support the company's international expansion and establish a presence in new markets.[49]

In 2018, Skillz announced a $25 million investment from The Kraft Group and Marc Lasry to support the development of new game titles, attract more game developers to the platform, and enhance the overall player experience.[50]

In 2020, Skillz raised $161 million in a Series D funding round led by Wellington Management Company and Fidelity Management & Research Company. This funding round values Skillz at $3.5 billion and provides significant capital for the company to fuel its growth, invest in technology infrastructure, and explore new business opportunities.[51]

In 2020, Skillz went public through a merger with Flying Eagle Acquisition Corp., a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC). The merger results in Skillz becoming a publicly traded company listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) under the ticker symbol "SKLZ". The transaction raised approximately $849 million in gross proceeds, providing additional capital for Skillz's operations and expansion plans. In December 2020, Skillz started trading on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker “SKLZ” following acquisition company Flying Eagle Acquisition Corp.[52][53]

Awards and ratings

[edit]

In 2017, Skillz was included on CNBC's Disruptor 50 list. In 2019, the company appeared again.[54]

In 2017, the company was ranked first on the list of fastest-growing companies in America on the Inc. 5000.[55]

In 2018, Skillz was added to Forbes' Next Billion-Dollar Startups list and[56] Skillz`s CEO was named an Entrepreneur 360.[57]

In 2020, the company was listed to Private Titans of 2020 List by Inc. Magazine, ranking the leading competitive mobile games platform.[58]

In 2019, Skillz was recognized as one of Fast Company’s most innovative companies and was named #31 on CNBC’s Disruptor 50.[59]

In 2022, Skillz was included into the list of 500 most innovative companies by Deloitte.[60]

In 2023, Skillz was included in the Fast Company List of Most Innovative Companies.[61]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c d e "Skillz Announces Q2 2022 Results". 3 August 2022. Retrieved 15 June 2023.
  2. ^ "Skillz Number of Employees 2019-2021". macrotrends. Retrieved 31 August 2021.
  3. ^ a b c Heitner, Darren (July 25, 2015). "The Development Of eSports Arenas Makes Economic Sense". Forbes. Skillz has partnered with more than 1,100 game studios, helped launch roughly 550 games (about 100 of which are running cash competitions), hosts over 150,000 daily tournaments across over 180 countries and has paid out in excess of $13 million to players.
  4. ^ a b Jordan, Jon; Editor, Contributing (April 17, 2018). "Patents, platforms and IPO: How mobile-first esports platform Skillz is planning for bigger things". The Esports Observer. Launched in 2012 and since funded to the tune of $53 million, over 13,000 mobile game developers have integrated the platform into their games, enabling players to wager small amounts of cash on the outcome of head-to-head battles and tournaments. {{cite web}}: |last2= has generic name (help)
  5. ^ a b c Novy-Williams, Eben (April 12, 2018). "Esports On Your Phone Are Worth Real Money". Bloomberg Businessweek. Skillz says it matches players based on ability. Cash prizes are paid via check or PayPal, and occasionally a new car or paid vacation is up for grabs. There are also free contests without cash-value prizes.
  6. ^ Jordan, Jon (September 18, 2018). "How real-money competition platform Skillz is riding the wave of mobile esports for all". Pocket Gamer. "We're seeing the benefit of the network effect for both players and developers," comments co-founder and COO Casey Chafkin.
  7. ^ Huang, Gregory T. (April 30, 2013). "Xconomy: Stealthy No More, Skillz Brings Cash Tournaments to Mobile Games". Xconomy. Andrew Paradise is at it again. Scarcely a year after confirming he'd sold his last company, AisleBuyer, to Intuit, the Boston-area entrepreneur and angel investor is taking his latest company out of stealth mode. Skillz (fka Lookout Gaming), which has offices in Boston and San Francisco, is trying to make a splash in the mobile gaming world by enabling game developers to host tournaments in which players compete for cash or virtual currency.
  8. ^ Takahashi, Dean (September 18, 2018). "Skillz hits $400 million revenue run rate with mobile esports platform". VentureBeat. Founded in 2012, Skillz is headquartered in San Francisco and backed by leading venture capitalists as well as the owners of the New England Patriots, Milwaukee Bucks, New York Mets and Sacramento Kings. Skillz raised $25 million in December 2017.
  9. ^ Heitner, Darren (December 13, 2017). "Mobile Esports Leader Raises $25 Million Series C Round And Aspires To Go Public". Forbes. Mobile esports leader Skillz is today announcing a Series C funding round. Skillz has previously raised more than $28 million prior to the Series C round, which included receipt of money from the owners of the New England Patriots, New York Mets and Milwaukee Bucks. Its Series B round from September 2015 resulted in $15 million raised, with Wildcat Capital Management leading the effort. The Series C funding round actually closed in the Summer, but Skillz has kept the raise a secret. The new round is in the amount of $25 million, bringing the total amount of money raised since inception to roughly $53 million. Leading the Series C round is Liberty Global LBTYA 0%, the largest international cable company, and Telstra, an Australian telecommunications and media company. Also involved in the round is Andy Miller, a co-owner of the Sacramento Kings and Chairman/co-owner of NRG eSports.
  10. ^ Heitner, Darren (October 15, 2015). "The Business Of eSports Is On Pace To Explode". Forbes. Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban has invested in eSports when he joined a Series A round of financing for eSports betting platform Unikrn. He was recently joined by other professional sports team owners in Marc Lasry (co-owner of the Milwaukee Bucks) and Robert Kraft (through The Kraft Group -- owners of the New England Patriots), together investing in eSports tournament curator Skillz.
  11. ^ Morganteen, Jeff (June 2, 2017). "Five must-watch videos: Amazon to $1,000 and Trump's climate decision". CNBC. Skillz has quietly become one of the biggest companies in the fledgling mobile esports industry. It awarded $50 million to players in 2016, and it raised about $28 million from venture firms, including Sequoia Capital and The Kraft Group, founded by Robert Kraft, owner of the New England Patriots.
  12. ^ Kolodny, Lora (2016-11-30). "Skillz wins two new patents, is now helping brands sponsor e-sports tournaments". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2023-06-15.
  13. ^ Heitner, Darren (December 13, 2017). "Mobile Esports Leader Raises $25 Million Series C Round And Aspires To Go Public". Forbes. Earlier this year, Skillz was named to the top spot on the Inc. 5000 list, which tracks the fastest-growing private companies in the U.S. The company's three-year growth rate is over 50,000%.
  14. ^ Heitner, Darren (December 13, 2017). "Mobile Esports Leader Raises $25 Million Series C Round and Aspires to Go Public". Inc.
  15. ^ Whitford, David (September 1, 2017). "How America's Fastest-Growing Company Turned Video Games Into a $54 Million Cash Cow". Inc.
  16. ^ Contributor, Ivy Taylor (2018-04-04). "Skillz doubles revenue run-rate up to $200m in nine months". GamesIndustry.biz. Retrieved 2023-06-15. {{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  17. ^ "Mobile Esports Firm Doubles Revenue in Just 10 Months". Bloomberg.com. 2018-04-03. Retrieved 2023-06-15.
  18. ^ "Skillz hits $400 million revenue run rate with mobile esports platform". VentureBeat. 2018-09-18. Retrieved 2023-06-15.
  19. ^ "Skillz launches $25,000 contest for mobile esports game devs". VentureBeat. 2019-07-18. Retrieved 2023-06-15.
  20. ^ Lenihan, Rob (2021-02-04). "Skillz Leaps on Plan With NFL for Contest to Develop Mobile Game". TheStreet. Retrieved 2023-06-15.
  21. ^ a b Orr, Aaron; Editor, News (2021-08-03). "Skillz partners with multiplayer tech company Exit Games, invests $50 million". pocketgamer.biz. Retrieved 2023-06-15. {{cite web}}: |last2= has generic name (help)
  22. ^ Bloom, David. "Skillz Reports Higher Revenues, Losses During 'Huge Building Year'". Forbes. Retrieved 2023-06-15.
  23. ^ Takahashi, Dean (2024-02-09). "Jury awards Skillz $42.9M in patent infringement trial". VentureBeat. Retrieved 2024-03-08.
  24. ^ Mitchell, Ferguson (April 17, 2018). "Breakdown of the Mobile Esports Scene". The Esports Observer. Retrieved April 6, 2019. Any skill game can be turned into an esports through the integration of platforms like Skillz.
  25. ^ Heitner, Darren (October 19, 2016). "Mobile Esports Company Reports $50 Million Run Rate". Forbes. This platform has allowed Skillz to become the esports provider for over 1,600 game studios, and the company predicts that it will host over 70 million tournaments in 2016 (three times more than hosted last year).
  26. ^ Gottsegen, Gordon (October 11, 2018). "A bigger phone could help you win that esports tournament". CNET.
  27. ^ Heitner, Darren (August 16, 2017). "How Skillz CEO Andrew Paradise Built an Inc. 5000 Leader". Inc. Skillz is also involved in recording and broadcasting all of the games being played on the network, and built out a portal called Skillz Arena, which is a product for streamers to run their own sophisticated esports tournament streams.
  28. ^ Fogel, Stefanie (October 25, 2018). "Skillz Gets Patent for Mobile Play-of-the-Game Feature". Variety.
  29. ^ Pei, Annie (November 10, 2018). "Skillz hands out prize money to gamers: What that means for esports". CNBC. If you're one of the 18 million users registered on Skillz, chances are that on any given day, you're collecting winnings from an electronic sports (esports) prize pool totaling over half a million dollars.
  30. ^ "3 Major Industries And Their Next-Gen Disruptors". Forbes. October 17, 2018. Operating under the motto "eSports for Everyone," Skillz runs over two million tournaments a day on casual games like Solitaire Cube, Bubble Shooter, and Dominoes.
  31. ^ Gottsegen, Gordon (October 11, 2018). "A bigger phone could help you win that esports tournament". CNET. Mobile esports company Skillz announced today that it's conducted an analysis of over 800 million tournaments and found that people competing with larger phones won significantly more often than people using smaller phones.
  32. ^ "Skillz 2017 Disruptor 50". CNBC. May 16, 2017. More than 10 million players from over 180 countries participated in Skillz events last year. Half of them were women.
  33. ^ "Skillz hits $100 million revenue run-rate with mobile esports platform". VentureBeat. 2017-05-02. Retrieved 2020-05-18.
  34. ^ "Skillz's top 10 mobile esports athletes won $2.7 million in 2017". VentureBeat. 2018-02-01. Retrieved 2020-05-18.
  35. ^ Jordan, Jon; Editor, Contributing (18 September 2018). "How real-money competition platform Skillz is riding the wave of mobile esports for all". pocketgamer.biz. {{cite web}}: |last2= has generic name (help)
  36. ^ "Skillz Set to Go Public to Bring Competitive Mobile Gaming to Everyone". www.businesswire.com. 2020-09-02. Retrieved 2023-06-15.
  37. ^ León, Riley de (2020-09-02). "Mobile gaming company Skillz is the next market deal from SPAC team that took DraftKings public". CNBC. Retrieved 2023-06-15.
  38. ^ Wire, Business (2021-06-02). "Skillz to Acquire Aarki to Form First Integrated Esports Advertising Platform". MarTech Series. Retrieved 2023-06-15. {{cite web}}: |first= has generic name (help)
  39. ^ "Largest Mobile eSports Charity Tournament Sees Over 25,000 Players Contribute to Susan G. Komen®'s Mission to Save Lives and End Breast Cancer". markets.businessinsider.com. Retrieved 2023-06-15.
  40. ^ Chapple, Craig; Contributor (2018-03-01). "Esports platform Skillz partners with breast cancer organisation for $100,000 charity tournament". pocketgamer.biz. Retrieved 2023-06-15. {{cite web}}: |last2= has generic name (help)
  41. ^ Partleton, Kayleigh; Writer, Staff (2019-10-31). "The American Red Cross and Skillz team up to aid US wildfire victims". pocketgamer.biz. Retrieved 2023-06-15.
  42. ^ "Skillz Partners with the American Red Cross to Help Alleviate Blood Shortages Due to Coronavirus". markets.businessinsider.com. Retrieved 2023-06-15.
  43. ^ "American Cancer Society, Skillz, and mobile game devs unite to fight cancer". VentureBeat. 2019-06-27. Retrieved 2023-06-15.
  44. ^ Partleton, Kayleigh; Writer, Staff (2020-06-19). "Skillz is hosting tournaments to raise money for the NAACP". pocketgamer.biz. Retrieved 2023-06-15.
  45. ^ "Play Games, End Child Poverty". Red Nose Day USA. Retrieved 2023-06-15.
  46. ^ Astle, Aaron; Writer, Staff (2022-03-18). "Skillz games to host charity tournaments for three consecutive Sundays". pocketgamer.biz. Retrieved 2023-06-15.
  47. ^ Kolodny, Lora (2014-09-26). "Skillz Raises $6M to Bring Competition, Cash Stakes to Mobile Games". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved 2023-06-15.
  48. ^ FinSMEs (2015-09-24). "Skillz Raises $15M in Series B Funding". FinSMEs. Retrieved 2023-06-15.
  49. ^ Heitner, Darren. "Mobile Esports Leader Raises $25 Million Series C Round And Aspires To Go Public". Forbes. Retrieved 2023-06-15.
  50. ^ "Skillz raises $25 million for mobile esports platform". VentureBeat. 2017-12-13. Retrieved 2023-06-15.
  51. ^ FinSMEs (2017-12-13). "Skillz Raises $25m in Series C Funding". FinSMEs. Retrieved 2023-06-15.
  52. ^ "Skillz Becomes First Publicly-Traded Mobile Esports Platform". www.businesswire.com. 2020-12-16. Retrieved 2023-06-15.
  53. ^ Partleton, Kayleigh; Writer, Staff (2020-09-02). "Skillz is going public on NYSE via merger with SPAC Flying Eagle". pocketgamer.biz. Retrieved 2023-06-15.
  54. ^ Pei, Annie (2020-09-02). "Skillz CEO: Going public via SPAC is just one step in becoming a 'hundred-year company'". CNBC. Retrieved 2023-06-15.
  55. ^ WHITFORD, DAVID. "How America's Fastest-Growing Company Turned Video Games Into a $54 Million Cash Cow". Inc.com.
  56. ^ "The Next Billion-Dollar Startups 2018". Forbes. Retrieved 2023-06-15.
  57. ^ Miller, George (2019-02-22). "CodeCube Brothers Earns $50,000 Prize in First Mobile eSports Indie Developer Contest". European Gaming Industry News. Retrieved 2023-06-15.
  58. ^ Skillz. "Skillz Ranked Among America's Top Private Companies on Inc.'s Private Titans of 2020 List". www.prnewswire.com (Press release). Retrieved 2023-06-15.
  59. ^ "CNBC Names Skillz the Top eSports Disruptor of 2019". markets.businessinsider.com. Retrieved 2023-06-15.
  60. ^ "2022 Technology Fast 500" (PDF). Deloitte. 2022-11-01.
  61. ^ "The 10 most innovative companies in gaming for 2023". FastCompany. 2023-02-03.
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