Southeast-Asian esports franchise Team Flash has raised $2.1M SGD ($1.5M USD) in a seed round led by Singapore-based family office Octava.

The investment will help the organization with its international expansion, securing its market leadership in Vietnam and further developing its brand and talent.

Team Flash signed an exclusive streaming rights deals with Huya’s NimoTV in 2018, added Singaporean nutrition company Fitlion to its sponsors recently, and announced a talent development partnership with the Singapore Sports Hub in March.

Today, Southeast-Asian esports franchise Team Flash, which was founded in 2017 by Terence Ting and Samson Oh, announced it has secured $2.1M SGD ($1.5M) in its first seed round. The investment was led by Singapore-based family office, Octava. Other private investors before this fundraising round include regional sports marketing agency, Reddentes Sports.

Proceeds from the investment will primarily be used for international expansion and to secure Team Flash’s market leadership in Vietnam, according to a release. Additionally, the funding will enable Team Flash to continue recruiting more esports talent across the region, focus on bringing in brand sponsorships and media partners, as well as launching a dedicated merchandising arm later this year.

“Southeast Asia has the fastest-growing esports demographic in the world and is at the cross-section of powerful trends like social connections and digital consumption of video. Looking ahead, we believe teams will benefit from the structural growth of esports into a fully-fledged professional sport,” Tan Ting Yong, investment director at Octava, said in a release. “Team Flash is well-positioned in the region to do this, given their record of excellence and community outreach programs.”

Team Flash currently employs more than 30 professional esports athletes and content creators in various game titles, including Arena of Valor, League of Legends, FIFA, and PUBG Mobile across Vietnam, Singapore, and Indonesia. Its League of Legends team has also progressed to the finals of the Vietnam domestic league, on course to qualify for the League of Legends Worlds Championship 2019 in Berlin. Team Flash’s Vietnam team was recently crowned world champions at the Arena of Valor World Cup, winning $200K in prize money.

In 2018, the esports organization announced a one-year exclusive streaming rights deal with NimoTV, a streaming platform owned by Huya, and also recently secured a sponsorship deal with Singaporean nutrition company Fitlion. In March, it also announced a talent development partnership with the Singapore Sports Hub.

The Esports Observer reached out to Team Flash for further comment and clarification. We will update this article if we receive a response.