Regina, Saskatchewan - Mobile development company, 54e Dev Studios Inc., announces the close of a $1.7 million seed round, led by Conexus Venture Capital Inc., with participation from several other private investors. 54e Dev Studios has applied the funding to growing its team of top developers with the goal of changing the world of Esports. 54e Dev Studios was founded by Dustin Coupal and Tim Borgares. After two years of active research and development, 54e has developed Connected Reality technology which is being introduced to the world through the launch of its first mobile game, OneShot Golf. Connected Reality (CR) is a new technology combining real-time user communication and ultra-low latency live video to control real-world robots from distant locations. OneShot Golf uses this technology to build a new class of skills-based Esports, which gives users control of the real world through their mobile device. “We started up 54e Studios with the idea that you can’t fake real,” said Dustin Coupal, co-founder and CEO of 54e Dev Studios. “We wanted to bring something unique to the Esports space - an experience that can’t be found anywhere else in the world. We’re super excited about the upcoming launch of OneShot Golf, which lets users control a real putter and hit a real golf ball on a real mini golf course.” “Many millions of dollars have been spent building physics engines in an effort to mimic reality. Using CR and a warehouse full of golfing robots we are bringing true- to-life physics to competitive Esports ,” said Tim Borgares, co-founder and CTO of 54e Studios. Building an innovative tech company is nothing new for Dustin Coupal, former co-founder of GasBuddy. When GasBuddy launched in 2000, they were one of the world’s first crowd-sourced consumer applications ever created, pre-dating the often recognized “father of internet crowdsourcing,” Wikipedia. GasBuddy is a consumer app that helps users find the cheapest gas prices in their region, which they grew to over 60 million downloads and 12 million monthly active users before selling to Oil Price Information Systems (OPIS) in March 2013. “With Tim being an early employee of GasBuddy, he and I have experienced building something that looks a bit crazy at first glance,” Said Coupal. “Now is our chance to bring an entirely new gaming experience to life using our very own live video platform. CR brings with it many new market opportunities not only in the world of Esports gaming but virtually every industry where remote control or robotics are involved. This investment marks the earliest stage of a company that Conexus VC has invested in. “When you get the chance to invest in founders like these two, along with a team that’s quickly formed with top startup talent, you need to take it,” said Sean O’Connor, Head & Managing Director of Conexus Venture Capital. “The great thing about a team like this is when they launch and start generating traction, very few groups in the world have the skillset to try and copy their approach. Not a lot of gaming developers can code in the morning and build golf robots in the afternoon.” For more information on OneShot Golf and to join the waitlist, visit https://www.54e.dev/