Cloud9

The team that would become Cloud9 originated after esports organization Quantic Gaming released all of their League of Legends players, these being Balls (An Van lee), Meteos (William hartman), Hai (Hai Du Lam), Sneaky (Zachary Scuderi) and LemonNation (Daerek Hart) . Afterward, all five players formed their own team under the moniker Team NomNom, and later rebranded to Cloud9 in early 2013. Cloud9 was then reacquired by Quantic Gaming on April 1, 2013, and later rebranded the team back to Cloud9. The team then changed hands again in May 2013, as former Team SoloMid manager Jack Etienne and Paullie Etienne bought out the contracts of the players for less than $20,000, officially creating the Cloud9 organization. Paullie Etienne was appointed the chief operating officer, and Jack Etienne's father eventually signed on as the organization's first legal counsel.

After early success in the organization's League of Legends division, Cloud9 expanded their brand into other esport games. The organization entered Smite esports in December 2013. In 2014, Cloud9 created divisions for Dota 2, Super Smash Bros. Melee, Hearthstone, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, Heroes of the Storm, and Halo. The organization disbanded their Smite division the same year due to internal issues, just prior to the start of the Smite Pro League, but it was reopened in January 2015. Throughout 2015 and 2016, Cloud9 established several more divisions, including Call of Duty, Overwatch, and their first touchscreen esport Vainglory. On September 6, 2016, the organization incorporated into Cloud9 Esports, Inc.

Although several of their divisions would dissolve, by March 2017, the company had ten teams across multiple titles and over one million fans spending a collective 15 million hours following Cloud9 players. That month, Cloud9 received a total of US$28 million from series A funding in a round led by Founders Fund, along with other investors Craft Ventures, former Facebook, Inc. executive Chamath Palihapitiya, Reddit Inc. cofounder Alexis Ohanian, and Major League Baseball player Hunter Pence. In July 2017, Cloud9 created their Rocket League division. The following month, Activision Blizzard announced that Cloud9 had purchased a London-based franchise slot for the upcoming Overwatch League (OWL); with the requirement that all organizations in the OWL create separate business entities and branding, Cloud9 created the subsidiary under the name London Spitfire. In November 2017, Riot Games announced that Cloud9 had secured a League of Legends Championship Series franchise slot for a reported US$10 million, marking the second owned franchised team by the company.

In June 2018, Cloud9 announced a major sponsorship deal with Red Bull, which included a deal that would place the Red Bull logo on the Cloud9 jerseys. In the middle of that deal, Jack Etienne invited 30 investors to a London Spitfire match at Blizzard Arena; four months later, Cloud9 announced that it had received US$50 million in series B funding in a round led by Valor Equity Partners, along with other investors TrueBridge Capital Partners, Reimagined Ventures, and Glassdoor founder Robert Hohman. Additionally, Valor Equity Partners founder and managing partner Antonio Gracias joined Cloud9's board of directors as a part of the deal. Funding from the round was to be used to establish a 20,000–30,000 square foot (1,900–2,800 m²) headquarters and training facility in Los Angeles, which was expected to be completed by the end of 2019. After the investment, Forbes ranked Cloud9 as the world's most valuable esports company at US$310 million.

In 2018, at a time when many esports teams were significantly downscaling their operations and only focusing on a select few games, Cloud9 reached top-level international success in Counter-Strike, Rocket League, Overwatch, and League of Legends. The success of the organization led to Jack Etienne being named Game Shakers' Shaker of the Year in December 2018, an award honoring people who have made a long-lasting impact in the esports industry and helped raise esports awareness around the world. In the following months, Cloud9 entered sponsorship deals with apparel brand Puma, telecommunications company AT&T, and automotive company BMW, in what were all the companies' first team sponsorships in esports. In that time, Cloud9 has established an Apex Legends division.

In November 2019, Cloud9 was fined by Riot Games for violating League of Legends Championship Series (LCS) rules. Dating back to July 2018, Cloud9 had issued equity to seven of its LCS players through restricted stock units; Riot had created a rule in November 2017 that prohibited any team owner from being on the team's roster. Cloud9 was fined $25,000 for each player violation, totaling $175,000, and had to pay additional money to its players. Riot estimated the total fine to be $330,000 to $605,000. Cloud9 was again ranked by Forbes as the world's most valuable esports company in 2019, along with Team SoloMid; the company was valued at $400 million, a $90 million increase over the previous year.

In February 2020, it was announced that Cloud9, along with esports organizations Immortals Gaming Club, Dignitas' parent company New Meta Entertainment, Gen.G Esports, c0ntact Gaming, and OverActive Media, had established Counter-Strike: Global Offensive league Flashpoint, the first professional esports league owned and operated by team organizations. The following month, Cloud9 reentered Dota 2 esports after a hiatus of almost three years. Cloud9 created its Valorant division in April 2020, and in October, they created their first all-female esports team for Valorant. Forbes ranked Cloud9 as the world's second-most valuable esports company at $350 million in 2020, a 13% decrease from 2019. In May 2022, Forbes ranked them the fifth-most valuable, with a value of $380 million.

On May 6, 2024, the Esports World Cup Foundation, funded by the Saudi Arabia Public Investment Fund and organizers of the Esports World Cup tournament series, announced the 30 organizations (known in the ESWC as Clubs) who would make up the Club Support Program, with Cloud9 being one of them. This program gives teams a one-time six-figure stipend if an organization is willing to enter new esports as well as additional funding each year if they drive viewership and fan engagement to the Esports World Cup.