Games24x7 Pvt Ltd, the parent company of gaming platforms such as My11Circle and RummyCircle, on Wednesday said it has raised $75 million in a funding led by Malabar Investment.
With this fundraise, the company’s valuation stood at $2.5 billion, making it the 14th unicorn of 2022.
Unicorns are startups with over $1 billion valuation.
The round also saw participation from existing investors Tiger Global Management and Raine Group.
Tiger Global had first invested in the company in 2011 and then in 2012, while Raine Group did its first investment in the company in 2019, the company said.
Games24x7 plans to use the fresh funds to boost user growth, content development and technological capabilities.
It claimed to have become India’s most valuable multi-game platform with the funding round.
The Mumbai-based company further claimed that My11Circle is currently India’s second-largest fantasy platform, while RummyCircle is the country’s largest online rummy platform.
Besides My11Circle, the Tiger Global-backed company also offers U Games, a portfolio of casual games.
Founded in 2006, by Trivikraman Thampy, an engineering alumnus of IIT Bombay and Bhavin Pandya, an engineering alumnus of Purdue University, Games24x7 has offices in Bengaluru, New Delhi, Miami and Philadelphia and claims to have over 100 million users.
“Games24x7 is a pioneer in the fast-growing online gaming industry in India and has built a highly profitable business with outstanding acquisition and retention metrics,” said Sumeet Nagar, Managing Director, Malabar Investment.
“Not only that, they have continuously improved on these metrics at a great scale, which we believe is quite a remarkable feat. This speaks of the data science capabilities, the rigor, the thoughtfulness and the strive for excellence that the fantastic leadership team brings to the table,” Nagar added.
With favorable demographics, increasing internet penetration and a burgeoning economy, India is suited for growth as an online skill gaming hub, Games24x7 said.
The Union government also acknowledged this growth as it announced setting up of the AVGC (Animation, Visuals, Gaming and Comics) Task Force, in the last budget, the company added.
“This investment round feels particularly special, when the sentiment around growth stocks, especially in the new age sector has been sluggish. It reaffirms the importance of building a business on strong fundamentals,” said Bhavin Pandya, Co-Founder and Co-Chief Executive Officer, Games24x7.
“The latest investment round and the validation it brings for the gaming sector, is our humble tribute to Honorable Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi Ji’s remarkable vision of making India, a global gaming hub,” Pandya added.
