360-degree virtual reality eSports platform Sliver.tv has raised $9.8 million in a series A equity funding round.

The company said it would use the extra finance to accelerate research and development investments in machine vision, AI and VR.

The funding round was led by Danhua Capital, along with Heuristic Capital Partners, ZP Capital and existing seed investors.

The latest investment brings total funding in the company up to $17.5 million. In August 2016 the company raised $6.2 million in seed funding.

"Cutting Edge"

“I’m thrilled to welcome Danhua Capital, Heuristic Capital Partners and ZP Capital to the SLIVER.tv family,” said Sliver.tv CEO Mitch Liu.

“Our platform today enables our global fans to connect and truly experience eSports in a whole new perspective. We’re on the cutting edge developing the next-generation live streaming technology, and this new funding will accelerate our R&D investments in machine vision, artificial intelligence and virtual reality.”

Sliver.tv has broadcast numerous global eSports tournaments in 360 degrees VR in partnership with the likes of ESL One, DreamHack and Intel Extreme Masters. Games streamed include Counter-Strike: Global Offensive and League of Legends.

The company launched the beta of its Watch & Win eSports platform in July 2017 and is said to have attracted hundreds of thousands of users, racking up more than 50 million minutes of eSports streams.

This article was originally published on our sister-site PocketGamer.biz.