Multi-gaming platform Games 24×7 on Tuesday launched Games24x7 Ventures—the corporate investment arm of the company—to support early-stage startups at the intersection of technology and interactive entertainment space in India.
The company has set aside a corpus of Rs 400 crore for the next five years and will focus on partnering with entrepreneurs building disruptive ventures in categories, including online gaming, digital marketing, digital content, sports tech, eSports, blockchain technology and analytics, and more.
The investments will focus on partnering with startups that have synergies with Games24x7’s core business areas.
In a conversation with YourStory, Rahul Tewari, CFO, Games24x7, said, “The idea of the fund is to build an ecosystem for gaming startups, where they have access to the right patient capital. While there are other funds, we understand what it takes to build a gaming startup, especially in the early days, and wanted to extend support to gaming startups for the same.”
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He added, “As a highly strategic venture capital partner, we bring in a unique blend of access to patient capital, along with strategic value additions in areas, including product development, data science, marketing automation, user growth, and monetisation, to help next generation of young, ambitious founders scale their ventures with confidence.”
Speaking on the development, Trivikraman Thampy, Co-founder and Co-CEO, Games24x7, said, “We believe that we are very well-positioned to support early-stage companies beyond just capital. Our ROI-focused mindset, intense customer focus, and scientific operating methodology of scaling topline while preserving sound unit economics would be very beneficial in partnering with founders in building hyper-growth companies, which will endure.”
In 2021, Games24x7 financially supported CricHeroes, a digital player-focused platform targeted at grassroots cricket in areas such as digital marketing, data science, data infrastructure and security, and product development. The business has seen substantial topline growth and an increase in the number of paying user base since the investment.
Bhavin Pandya, Co-founder and Co-CEO, Games24x7, said, “We have launched this fund to foster India’s entrepreneurial and deep-tech ecosystem. We believe that a strong vision supported by the right environment can accelerate the growth journey for any startup, and our own progress is a testament to the same. With Games24x7 Innovation Fund, we strive to be a catalyst in the growing startup community, which offers a perfect amalgamation of unique ideas, disruptive business models, and new innovative technologies.”
(This story was updated to correct a spelling error.)
