The Santa Monica-based venture fund Griffin Gaming Partners announced that legendary industry figure Mike Sepso has joined the firm as a Venture Partner.

Sepso, a highly influential figure in the professionalisation of competitive gaming, will work to assist founders and scale businesses across the firm’s portfolio. The goal of the appointment is to leverage Sepso’s operational and strategic expertise to empower the next wave of gaming entrepreneurs.

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Sepso brings a massive track record to Griffin’s leadership network as a multiple-exit founder in the digital sector. In 2002, he co-founded Major League Gaming (MLG), the first professional esports league in North America, and brought competitive gaming to networks like ESPN and USA Network.

He joined Activision Blizzard as Corporate Senior Vice President following the acquisition of MLG in 2016, where he launched the company’s Media Networks Division and the Overwatch League. In 2019, Sepso co-founded esports infrastructure company Vindex, which was acquired by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) in 2023 and merged into ESL FACEIT Group (EFG).

Beyond his heavy involvement in competitive gaming, Sepso is actively operating as an angel investor in AI-native creator economy tools. He also serves as the Co-Chair of the IAB Creator Economy Board and sits on the board of the lifestyle brand and esports team 100 Thieves.

Regarding his decision to join the fund, Sepso shared on LinkedIn that he understands how difficult it is to build a world-class business that matches the passion gamers have with authenticity and maximum effort, noting that the team at Griffin has demonstrated they have the capital, “expertise, connections, and passion to help great founders win.”

Griffin Gaming Partners operates as one of the world’s leading venture funds focused exclusively on gaming, investing at the intersection of content, social platforms, and software infrastructure. The fund has 1.5 billion US dollars under management and was founded by Peter Levin, Nick Tuosto, and Phil Sanderson. Among the studios and technology companies in the firm’s portfolio is the popular communications app Discord.

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