In 2024, former Ninjas in Pyjamas COO Jonas Gundersen founded Continuum X Group (CXG), a company designed to operate at the intersection of investment, advisory and venture-building, with a focus on shaping the future of esports and gaming.
This week, CXG unveiled its first major initiative: CXG VentureLabs, a venture studio aimed at creating and incubating new ventures within esports. Created as a joint venture between startup studio builder Bifrost Studios — which has come in with a $2m (~£1.58m) investment commitment — and CXG, the initiative looks to unite and amplify the sector.
Gundersen sat down with Esports Insider to reflect on his time at NIP, the motivations behind CXG and his vision for the future of esports.
From NIP to CXG
Esports Insider: After such a successful run with Ninjas in Pyjamas, which was capped off with an IPO on Nasdaq, why step away to start something new?
Gundersen: NIP was an incredible journey with some great people all over. RTransforming the organisation into a global brand, navigating the merger, and taking it public is a steep challenge. The fact that we managed to do it all in the middle of COVID and a challenging world climate makes it even more special and for sure feels like a huge accomplishment.
For me, it just seemed like the right time to leave. Ultimately, I am an entrepreneur who likes to start new things, and there are people much better suited to the journey ahead.
Hicham [Chahine, NIP Group co-CEO] and Mario [Ho, co-CEO] were absolutely integral in successfully listing the company, and with their continued leadership, NIP Group really is in a great spot to continue building something even greater, showcasing that it is possible to build true value in gaming and esports, and it just felt like a perfect time. I am excited to keep watching all the great developments coming out of there, but from the sidelines, as I start writing the next chapter of my own journey.
Esports Insider: What’s the idea behind the creation of Continuum X Group? What makes it unique compared to similar companies in the sector?
Gundersen: The philosophy behind Continuum X Group is rooted in serving the esports community in the best possible way. Rather than starting with the question, ‘What kind of company should I create?’ I started at, ‘What does esports need right now?’ And worked backward from there.
The result is a company that can operate across three areas I know best; advisory, venture building, and investments. CXG is designed to incubate new ideas, transform existing ventures, or build something entirely new, but always with an ambition of working collaboratively with the broader ecosystem.
We’re focused on being this neutral component that can work with everyone; publishers, teams, brands, platforms, governments, or something else, but without bias. By doing so, we can support the growth of esports as a whole, not just one corner of it.
The philosophy behind CXG VentureLabs
Esports Insider: VentureLabs is the CXG’s first major initiative for the company. Could you explain the project’s purpose and how it differs from CXG as a whole?
Gundersen: CXG is created with a deep belief in success created through co-creation and collaboration with great people. When I met Thorbjørn [Rønje, Founder of Bifrost Studios], it was one of those encounters where vision and ethos on how to build teams, people, building companies and ultimately venture studios, were immediately aligned and we saw a fantastic opportunity for creating the whole venture-building part of CXG together with Bifrost Studios.
VentureLabs focuses on the actual hands-on building of both new and transforming existing ventures, with in-house expertise across development, digital products, growth, technology, and much more, which has great synergy with the rest of the company.
Esports Insider: What is VentureLabs’ philosophy when it comes to building ventures in esports?
Gundersen: Collaboration is at the heart of everything we do. Esports is already a fantastic community with thousands of sub-communities, verticals, and highly engaged fans around the world. What we want to do is build with the community and existing stakeholders.
Instead of thinking we have to reinvent the wheel, we focus on how to unify and amplify what’s already happening. It’s about taking the great work being done in esports, angling it the right way, and applying the right timing, people, and technologies to move the industry forward.
Esports Insider: In that case, how do you identify which ideas to pursue? Also, what’s the process for turning an idea into a scalable business?
Gundersen: At the end of the day, we’re idea and stage-agnostic, but there are three critical characteristics we always look for.
First, distribution. What’s the model? How do we ensure it reaches the end user? Esports has a built-in network of incredible initiatives that are already connecting with audiences, stakeholders, and partners. Our ventures need to tap into that ecosystem to succeed.
Second, is monetisation. If we can’t create real value for the end user or the market, then we’re not solving the right problem. Esports stakeholders are more than willing to pay for value when it’s clear and impactful. A good venture has to monetise effectively because that’s proof it’s delivering the right proposition, and it’s definitely one of the areas that haven’t been properly solved in the esports industry.
Thirdly, it’s about having the right ethos of what esports and our community are all about and where it’s heading. It needs to be ventures we get deeply excited about ourselves, and something we can see ourselves being part of long term. Without having true conviction about an idea, you simply won’t be successful.
Future initiatives
Esports Insider: Where do you see Continuum X Group heading in the next few years? What other initiatives are on the horizon?
Gundersen: With the launch of CXG VentureLabs, we’ve taken a great leap forward in the overall vision, which I kind of see as the second phase. The first phase was about establishing ourselves on the advisory and consulting side, making sure we had projects going, identifying where we could help and packaging our offerings correctly while making people understand we exist in the first place.
The second phase is VentureLabs itself, where the focus immediately turns to hiring the right people, building out the operational side of the business and obviously launching new exciting ventures.
The third part is definitely on the investment side. We already have some investments and are currently vetting a few more, but the larger ambition is to raise our first fund of around $15m (~£11.87m)in 2025. That will allow us to fully activate all three verticals: advisory for hands-on expertise, venture-building capabilities for building larger projects, and investment capabilities to scale and enable growth across ventures, both from our own studio as well as outside projects.
Esports Insider: As a final question, will we ever see you on the team side again?
Gundersen: Haha, yeah maybe down the line. With the RMR happening right now, I am reminded of how I am NOT missing the anxiety of that. My god the experiences we’ve had there.
I am enjoying a hiatus of not having to deal with the stress of performance management, but I’d be lying if I said I didn’t miss the thrill of it. Building great teams, and the intensity of running a club, altogether with the roars of the arenas. There is nothing quite like it. Overall, it definitely fits into the vision of the wider portfolio of Continuum X Group, but when, how, where, and who depends on many factors. I see great value in teams, and many exciting approaches on how to do it, so let’s see what the future holds.
