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- French organization MCES has raised $2M USD in seed funding to establish pro rosters, hire professional staff, and establish amateur gaming academies.
- MCES currently has teams and players competing across four games, and opened its first academy in Marseille in December. Two more academies will open this year.
- The team is working with Financière Monceau Corporate Finance to raise Series A funding, which will be used to add further game rosters and academies.
French esports organization MCES 
has announced €1.8M ($2M USD) in seed funding, which will be used to expand both its professional teams and amateur gaming centers.
The funding round took place between the end of 2018 and the first quarter of 2019. Gilles Mischler, one of Facebook’s earliest employees, contributed €1M ($1.13M) of the seed money. Additional investment came through unnamed entrepreneurs in Marseille, particularly in regard to the opening of MCES’ gaming academy in the city in December 2018.
According to a release, the funding has allowed the organization to invest in players for its four current teams in League of Legends , Fortnite , FIFA , and Rainbow Six Siege . It also helped fund professional staff, training facilities and player housing, nutritional assistance via a partnership with Sodexo, as well as physical and mental training and guidance (the latter done with assistance from ESP Consulting).
MCES was founded in 2018, and this February, it was granted authorization to operate an esports business via the French Directorate General for Enterprises. Retired French swimmer and Olympic gold medalist Yannick Agnel serves as a brand ambassador and executive sports director for the team.
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MCES has already signed apparel brand Adidas and communication app OnOff as sponsors. Adidas is also the team’s exclusive supplier for both the pro squads and academy. Additional sponsorship announcements are forthcoming, said CEO Romain Sombret.
He told The Esports Observer that the team’s current focus is on bringing in investment to grow the brand and take advantage of new French league opportunities as they arise. According to a release, MCES has “been accompanied” by Financière Monceau Corporate Finance in its Series A fundraising endeavors, which began in May.
The organization is next looking to expand into new games, with titles such as Counter-Strike: Global Offensive , Rocket League , and Hearthstone listed as possible options in a release. The team will also open new gaming academies in Aix-en-Provence and Paris this year, with plans to open six further facilities in 2020. The academies seek to “manage the ‘early learning stage’” of gamers between age 12 and 16, according to Sombret.
