SLIVER.tv has today announced the closing of a 6.2 million seed round of equity funding and the open beta launch of its eSports entertainment platform. Brining 360 degree viewing to major eSports videogames and events, SLIVER.tv launches its open beta with Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, League of Legends and Dota 2.

Available for iOS and Android platforms now, SLIVER.tv’s technology supports Panorama-360 video for mobile and Google Cardboard for virtual reality (VR). The funding for the platform has been acquired via Silicon Valley venture capital firms including DCM Ventures, Sierra Ventures, The Venture Reality Fund (VR Fund), and Japanese mobile gaming companies GREE and Colopl. Hollywood media investors CAA Ventures, Bertelsmann Digital Media Investments (BDMI), Greycroft Partners and Advancit Capital, along with Sparkland Capital and Green Pine Capital Partners also participated in the round.

Mitch Liu, founder and CEO of SLIVER.tv, said: “We’re focused on the intersection between today’s 250 million eSports viewers and the emerging VR market. We recognized early on that the existing eSports viewing approach from the player’s point-of-view is not necessarily the best perspective for the audience. Our vision is to transform the eSports spectator experience forever.”

SLIVER.tv’s technology uses multiple virtual camera arrays in recording videogames in 360 degrees, especially games that don’t currently support VR. The approved patents also include the SDK and videogame connector modules to enable non-VR titles to become VR-capable during playback, and using player and videogame metadata in VR environments.

The company’s “Auto Content” generation technology crawls, indexes and records over a dozen live professional tournaments and players at any given time, building up a database of top matches, players and tourneys along with unique videogame metadata. “Hot Spot” proprietary algorithms identify exciting moments from these matches and tournaments, and automatically create highlight reels, replays and top plays, such as Counter-Strike: Global Offensive headshots or League of Legends multi-kills.

Finally, the “Special Effects” algorithm then applies slow motion, zoom-in effects, and dynamically places virtual cameras to capture the action at optimal viewing angles. The company currently generates and publishes these 360° videogame highlights within 12-24 hours of a match completion held anywhere in the world.

SLIVER.tv has today launched its app for Android and iOS devices supporting Panorama-360 video, available for free. VRFocus will keep you updated with all the latest details on SLIVER.tv’s technology and the future of eSports in VR.