SteelSeries


SteelSeries is a Danish and Chicago based manufacturer of gaming peripherals and accessories, including headsets, keyboards, mice, and gaming surfaces.

History

SteelSeries was founded in 2001 by Jacob Wolff-Petersen. The company's original name was Soft Trading, and it was changed to SteelSeries in 2007. Soft Trading made the Icemat and SteelPad mouse mats, the latter of which influenced the company's eventual name change. In 2008, SteelSeries acquired Ideazon, a North America-based developer and manufacturer of gaming peripherals.
Michael von Essen-Mueller, the company's first CEO, helped the company establish its brand and grow to a global footprint. In 2007, SteelSeries hired Bruce Hawver as CEO. The company saw tremendous growth over the next five years as it expanded its portfolio and channels, developed the SteelSeries Engine platform, and added partnerships across the e-sports and the gaming ecosystem
In 2012, SteelSeries received investments of undisclosed amounts from U.S.-based private equity firm Catterton Partners and China-based private equity firm ClearVue Partners.
In April 2020, SteelSeries acquired Nahimic audio software developer, A-Volute.

Team and player sponsorships

SteelSeries supports a number of electronic sports teams and individuals through sponsorships and community support. Sponsored teams include FaZe Clan, Evil Geniuses, , , Alliance, among others. Past sponsorships include Manuel "Grubby" Schenkhuizen and Tom "Tsquared" Taylor in 2011.

Partnerships

SteelSeries has held partnerships with major companies in the gaming industry, including Blizzard Entertainment, Electronic Arts, Hewlett-Packard, Gunnar Optiks, Valve, and MSI.