As the gaming industry continues to witness increasing customer engagement amid the Covid-19 pandemic, mobile esports platform Mobile Premier League (MPL) is the latest startup in the segment to join the fundraising bandwagon.
MPL parent Galactus Funware Technology said on Monday that it has raised $90 million (Rs 657 crore) in a Series C funding round to accelerate growth.
Pennsylvania headquartered private equity firm SIG, Moscow-based early stage technology investor RTP Global, the corporate venture capital unit of Indonesian telecom major Telkom Indonesia MDI Ventures, and Silicon Valley-based venture capital firm Pegasus Tech Ventures led the round.
Returning investors Sequoia India; Go-Ventures, the venture capital firm run by unicorn Go-Jek; and Sao Paulo-based investment firm Base Partners participated in the round, a statement said.
The fresh capital, the Bengaluru-based startup said, will be used to expand its market share and product offerings, and to scale its team. Its product development will focus on social functions such as live streaming, and audio and video content features, it said.
The company claims to have grown over four fold in the past seven months, and with more than six crore users, it is currently the largest gaming platform in the country. The platform has recorded over two billion cash transactions to date.
The latest capital infusion takes the total investment in MPL to $130.5 million, the statement said.
Incorporated in September 2018 by Kiran and Shubham Malhotra, MPL offers esports, casual, fantasy and arcade games, such as Sudoku, Crosswords, Free Fire, Rummy or Quiz. Users can pick a tournament that suits their wallet — each tournament runs for a certain duration and allows a specific number of players. Once the tournament results are announced, winners can cash out immediately via Paytm, UPI or a bank transfer, as per information on the company’s website. MPL has added over 70 games on the platform since its launch.
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