Tag: gaming Startup

  • Gameskraft: How is it creating a World-Class Gaming Experience for the Indian Users

    Company Profile is an initiative by StartupTalky to publish verified information on different startups and organizations.

    With the availability of fast internet and smartphones, online gaming is gaining much popularity in India, especially among the youth. With this increasing craze, many gaming companies are coming up with engaging and entertaining gaming options.

    Gameskraft, a Bangalore-based startup in the online gaming sector, is all set to bring a world-class gaming experience to Indian users. This startup, launched in 2017, is driven by the vision to establish Gameskraft Technologies as a leading gaming company in India. StartupTalky interviewed Gameskraft founder Prithvi Singh. Let’s see what he has to say, what Gameskraft actually is, and how it is transforming the world of online gaming in this StartupTalky article ahead!

    Startup Name GamesKraft
    Headquarter Bangalore
    Founder Prithvi Singh
    Sector Online Gaming
    Founded June 2017
    Registered Entity Name Gameskraft Technologies Pvt. Ltd.
    Website gameskraft.in

    Gameskraft – Company Highlights

    About Gameskraft
    Gameskraft – Industry
    Gameskraft – Founders and Team
    Gameskraft – Startup Story
    Gameskraft – Mission and Vision
    Gameskraft – Name, Tagline and Logo
    Gameskraft – Business and Revenue Model
    Gameskraft – Customer Acquisition
    Gameskraft – Funding
    Gameskraft – Products and Features
    Gameskraft – Advisors and Mentors
    Gameskraft – Investment
    Gameskraft – Partnerships
    Gameskraft – Challenges
    Gameskraft – Competitors
    Gameskraft – Future Plans

    About Gameskraft

    Gameskraft is an online gaming company founded in Bengaluru that develops web and mobile games. The company is hailed as India’s first gaming company that gives instant cash rewards. The ISO-certified gaming platform is lauded to be instrumental in building and scaling bellwether technology startups, including Goibibo, Blinkit, Myntra, and Flipkart.

    Nostragamus, Rummytime, Pocket52, Rummyculture, and Gamezy are some of the gaming platforms that Gameskraft boasts of, all of which are based on reward systems and use real cash. Gamezy was launched by Gameskraft in 2019, through which it entered the fantasy cricket and football segment. Besides, users can play games like Carrom, Fruit Slice, Fruit Dart, Sheep Fight, Ludo, Snake, Run Boy Run, Quiz, Bricks, and Bubble Burst on Gamezy. Players can play the games for free for practice, and later can opt for playing these games with real money and real players.

    Gameskraft debuted with Rummy Culture in 2017. In just a short period, it has evolved into India’s fastest-growing cash rummy platform, with over 1 million active players on its website and Android application. Offering a best-in-class gaming experience with complete digital safety, Rummy Culture has multilingual customer support. Free to register, the platform also provides first-time players with generous welcome bonuses. The USP of Rummy culture lies in its transparency and ease of use, along with instant withdrawals.

    RummyCulture Logo
    RummyCulture Logo

    The games are designed after researching the market trends, the demand, and the gaps that exist in the casual gaming industry.

    “We made sure our products will cater to the specific needs of the Indian customer. Unlike most other real cash games, our users are credited the money they win on the same day” – Rummyculture owner Prithvi Singh says.

    Gameskraft – Industry

    The investment of market leaders such as Alibaba, Tencent, Nazara, and Youzu has contributed to the growth of the Indian gaming industry. India’s online gaming industry, currently valued at $3.7 billion, is expected to grow to $9.1 billion by 2029.


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    Gameskraft – Founders and Team

    Prithvi Singh founded Gameskraft in 2017. The company has declared Ramesh Prabhu as the CFO of the gaming startup, who has held the role since August 2018. Harish Rawat serves as the Senior Vice President of Marketing of the business, while Vikas Taneja is known as the Group CEO of Gameskraft.

    Prithvi Raj Singh

    Gameskraft founder Prithvi Raj Singh is a B.Tech. Computer Science engineering graduate from Netaji Subhas Institute of Technology. Prior to GamesKraft, he worked with companies like Grofers, now Blinkit, where he had worked as the Staff Engineer; Ignite Technologies as the Chief Architect; CA Technologies as a Manager, and Trilogy, where he had worked as a Technical Associate. Prithvi had already gained knowledge across different domains, including large-scale and enterprise applications.

    Prithvi Singh, Founder GamesKraft
    Prithvi Singh, Founder Gameskraft

    Prithvi Singh has always been fascinated with computers, and this is why he chose Computer Science in college. He mentioned this in a YouTube interview, along with discussing much more about his journey and the experiences he had as a first-time investor. Here’s the interview below:

    Prithvi Singh – Gameskraft Founder

    Gameskraft – Startup Story

    Prithvi started showing interest in gaming at a young age. During his college years, he spent a considerable amount of time playing video games. Around the same time, he realized that the market is mostly dominated by international companies and the games are not specific to the Indian market. So, he wanted to develop games, especially for Indian users.

    “With Gameskraft, I wanted to bring the Indian context to the online gaming space. The games we develop are mainly targeted at Indian users. Since India’s gaming industry has a huge potential, I was pretty confident about Gameskraft” quotes Gameskraft owner Prithvi Singh.


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    Gameskraft – Mission and Vision

    Gameskraft was launched with the aim of creating the “next big revolution in the e-gaming industry.”

    “Gameskraft’s vision is to be the most loved online gaming company of the 21st century using best-in-class technology. We are here to create a flawless user experience like no other contemporary apps in the market.”

    “We wanted a name for our company that is catchy and easy to remember, so we came up with Gameskraft.”, said rummyculture owner Prithvi Singh.

    Gameskraft’s tagline is ‘India’s fastest-growing gaming company’.

    Gameskraft logo
    Gameskraft logo

    Gameskraft – Business and Revenue Model

    GamesKraft is built on a user-oriented business model and can thus be summed up as a business operating in a B2b as well as a B2c model. Gameskraft earns revenue by collecting service charges on the cash games. Non-cash games are mostly free, but some games have entry restrictions.

    Gameskraft – Customer Acquisition

    Initially, word-of-mouth publicity helped Gameskraft to create a name. Gameskraft’s referral program also helped the company attract new customers. The company also offers welcome bonuses to new users. During the Cricket World Cup 2019, Gameskraft launched an exclusive World Cup ‘scratch card’ offer for the Rummyculture users.

    As part of this app-only (available on both Android and iOS) offer, users stand a chance to win a prize every hour. However, only mobile-verified users can claim this offer, and they are eligible for a maximum of 8 scratch cards a day.

    Under this ‘scratch card’ offer, Rummyculture subscribers can access one scratch card per hour. Each card will be activated for one hour when the match starts. Users can make a claim only during this period. Additionally, Gameskraft recently presented the official World Cup 2019 Team India jersey to Rummyculture players with the highest add-on cash every day from June 1st to 5th. The platform has also added an exclusive World Cup leaderboard to Rummyculture’s platform and users with the highest points tally will receive attractive prizes following the completion of the World Cup 2019. Rummyculture is now available on the iOS platforms too.

    “We took a customer-centric approach from the beginning and it has worked really well for us. Customers have grown to like our games because of their transparency and user-centricity.”, said Gameskraft founder Prithvi Singh.

    Gameskraft – Funding

    Gameskraft doesn’t have any formal investors at present. It was the founder of the company, Prithvi Singh, who arranged some amount of funding from his family and friends to start Gameskraft.


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    Gameskraft – Growth and Revenues

    Gameskraft has been making safe gaming experiences ever since it was founded. The company has also been hailed as:

    • India’s fastest-growing gaming company
    • A Guinness World Record holder for conducting the world’s largest rummy tournament
    • Gameskraft boasts of having crossed 1 million downloads
    • It has a massive player community of 25 million for its app Rummy Culture.
    • Gameskraft has 2 offices, both of which are located in Bangalore.
    • It has a team of 600K+ gaming enthusiasts.
    • It has 421 million online gamers.

    Gameskraft Financial

    Particulars 2024 2025
    Operating Revenue INR 3,475 crore INR 3,896 crore
    Total Expenses INR 2,232 crore INR 2,766 crore
    Total Profit INR 947 crore INR 706 crore
    Gameskraft Financials
    Gameskraft Financials

    Operating revenue increased from INR 3,475 crore in 2024 to INR 3,896 crore in 2025. However, higher expenses led to a decline in total profit from INR 947 crore to INR 706 crore.

    Gameskraft – Advisors and Mentors

    My family and friends have given me constant support throughout the journey. Whenever I need advice, I turn to them.


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    Gameskraft – Investment

    Gameskraft has invested in three companies. Below are the details:

    Company Name Funding Round Date Amount
    Mailmodo Seed Round Jun 30, 2021 $2 million
    Pocket52 Series A Jun 2, 2020 $1.8 million
    WarmOven Seed Round Aug 29, 2019 $835.7 K

    Gameskraft – Products and Features

    Rummy Culture from Gameskraft

    Rummy Culture has introduced new features intended to boost rummy’s appeal to novice players while also improving the gameplay experience for all experienced players. Ultra Deals Rummy is a brand-new game format that Rummy Culture has also debuted.

    Gameskraft – Partnerships

    Gameskraft has partnered with various prominent companies:

    Inspire Institute of Sports

    Gamekraft Foundation and IIS have partnerships, and with their partnership, to provide high-class training and access to facilities to identified young sports talents in India across various disciplines in the sport of track and field

    Anju Bobby Sports Foundation (ABSF)

    Gameskraft has teamed up with the Anju Bobby Sports Foundation (ABSF) to contribute to the establishment of ABSF’s new high-performance academy in Bengaluru. This collaboration reflects Gameskraft Foundation’s commitment to sports development and its vision of fostering social upliftment and success stories across various sports disciplines.

    West Bengal National University of Juridical Sciences (WBNUJS)

    Gameskraft and the West Bengal National University of Judicial Sciences (WBNUJS) have partnered to create a gaming, technology, and sports legislation research center. This endeavor comes at a crucial time when the gaming industry is quickly evolving and policy reform is gaining ground.

    Disney+Hotstar

    Gameskraft partnered with Disney+Hotstar on September 22, 2021, to strengthen its brand recognition among viewers.

    Gameskraft – Challenges

    Gameskraft Layoffs

    In September 2025, Gameskraft laid off 120 employees due to India’s ban on real-money gaming under the Online Gaming Act, 2025. The layoffs affected multiple departments, including operations, tech, marketing, and finance. The company is honoring severance, leave encashment, and health benefits. This follows the suspension of platforms like Rummyculture and Pocket52, and comes amid an INR 270 crore fraud case involving the former CFO. The move reflects broader industry impact, with over 2,000 gaming jobs lost nationwide.

    Retaining Customers

    The most challenging part for the company was retaining a steady customer base. When Gameskraft first started, it mainly focused on a good interface. However, over time, it realized that there are many other important factors. The company constantly keeps on researching and making changes to its platform to meet customer expectations. Rummyculture’s first multi-player tournament didn’t go as planned, mostly due to technical errors. It was a real eye-opener for Gameskraft, and they learned from the mistake and made changes accordingly.


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    Gameskraft – Competitors

    Many online gaming companies are now operating in India. Some top gaming companies are:

    As noted by Prithvi, Gameskraft is a new player in the online gaming space. The Gameskraft focus is currently on its latest offering, Gamezy. The Gamezy owner, Gameskraft, had forayed into the fantasy gaming space earlier in 2019.

    “What makes us stand out is that we do extensive market research before rolling out any game. We take regular feedback from our customers to make improvements in various areas – whether it’s the UI of the game or the format.”

    Gameskraft – Future Plans

    Following India’s 2025 ban on real-money gaming, Gameskraft has paused its rummy and poker platforms and will not pursue legal challenges. The company laid off 120 employees but launched an internal Ideathon to explore new growth ideas. It is now focusing on compliant gaming opportunities, innovation, player safety, and potential diversification into other segments of the gaming industry, leveraging its expertise to adapt to regulatory changes and market dynamics.

    FAQs

    What is Gameskraft, and who is the founder of Gameskraft?

    Gameskraft is an online gaming platform founded in 2017 by Prithvi Singh, which offers an array of interesting games for Indian players. The company takes pride in being India’s first gaming company to give instant cash rewards to the players. The ISO-certified gaming platform also boasts of organizing the world’s largest online rummy tournament and has its name in the Guinness World Records.

    Who is Gameskraft ceo?

    Vikas Taneja is the CEO of Gameskraft.

    Who is Gamezy founder?

    The Gamezy founder is none other than Prithvi Raj Singh, who founded Gameskraft.

    Who is Ramesh Prabhu?

    Ramesh Prabhi is the CFO of Gameskraft.

    Who is the owner of Gamezy and RummyCulture?

    Gameskraft is the owner of Gamezy and RummyCulture.

    Gameskraft brings in trusted games. It is also recognized by the ISO certification.

  • Top 10 Gaming Startups in India | Best Indian Gaming Companies in 2023

    The digital revolution has fueled the gaming industry of India tremendously, transforming the nation into a bustling hub for game development and innovation. It was further pushed by the startup culture in which the Indian business world itself thrived. By 2019, the number of people who play online games in India crossed 300 million and it is increasing over the years.

    It is expected that by 2025 global gaming market is expected to exceed $256.97 billion. As the internet became cheaper and widely accessible, the number of online gamers increased. A large number of gamers from tier 1 and tier 2 cities were added to it.

    Driven by the exponential growth of internet users, increased smartphone penetration, and the rise of esports, the gaming landscape in India has evolved into an enchanting realm of opportunities for both players and entrepreneurs.

    As the industry continues to gain momentum, a new generation of visionary startups has emerged, reshaping the gaming landscape and captivating the hearts of millions of gamers across the nation. From mobile gaming sensations to cutting-edge virtual reality experiences, these gaming startups have demonstrated their mettle in the highly competitive arena, setting new benchmarks for creativity, technology, and user engagement.

    In this blog, we’ll delve into the captivating narratives of trailblazers who dared to dream big and turned their passion for gaming into thriving ventures. So buckle up, and let’s dive into the exhilarating world of the top gaming startups in India!

    Top Gaming Startups in India

    1. Dream11
    2. Nazara Technologies
    3. Paytm First Games
    4. Games2Win
    5. Moonfrog Labs
    6. 99 Games
    7. Octro
    8. JetSynthesys
    9. Hashcube
    10. Mech Mocha

    Revenue Earnings by Indian Gaming Companies

    Dream11

    Website www.dream11.com
    Headquarters Mumbai, Maharashtra
    Founders Harsh Jain, Bhavit Sheth
    Founded 2008

    Dream 11 - Top gaming startups in India
    Dream 11 – Top gaming startups in India

    Established in 2008, Dream11 stands as one of top gaming startups in India, revolutionizing the gaming landscape by introducing sports enthusiasts to a thrilling world of fantasy sports. Catering to a wide array of sports, including cricket, kabaddi, football, basketball, and hockey, the platform has garnered immense popularity among fans looking to immerse themselves in their favorite games.

    Dream11 achieved an extraordinary milestone in 2019 by becoming the first gaming startup to attain unicorn status. In a monumental move, Dream11 secured the coveted title sponsorship for the prestigious Indian Premier League (IPL) 2020 in August 2020. Since its inception, this gaming giant has set unprecedented milestones, establishing itself as the pinnacle of success and influence in India’s gaming landscape.


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    Nazara Technologies

    Website www.nazara.com
    Headquarters Mumbai, Maharashtra
    Founders Nitish Mittersain
    Founded 1999

    Nazara Technologies - Indian gaming company
    Nazara Technologies – Indian gaming company

    Founded in 2000, Nazara Technologies has emerged as a leading force in India’s gaming industry, making significant strides in transforming the gaming landscape across the nation. With an unwavering commitment to innovation and a deep understanding of the Indian gaming market, Nazara has captivated the hearts of millions, redefining how players experience and engage with digital entertainment.

    It is boasting diverse segments such as subscription, freemium, e-sports, and skill-based gaming. With a global reach spanning over 64 countries, the company has been on a steady trajectory of growth, continuously expanding its influence and services worldwide. Over the years, the company has successfully acquired several prominent entities like NODWIN Gaming and Sportskeeda, solidifying its position as a key player in the gaming ecosystem and broadening its offerings to cater to a vast array of gaming enthusiasts. Today, Nazara Technologies stands tall with an impressive user base of over 100 million, a testament to the immersive and engaging gaming experiences it delivers to players worldwide.


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    Paytm First Games

    Website www.firstgames.in
    Headquarters Noida, Uttar Pradesh
    Founders Vijay Shekhar Sharma
    Founded 2018

    Paytm First Games - Top gaming company in India
    Paytm First Games – Top gaming startups in India

    Paytm First Games, a dynamic venture by Paytm, one of India’s leading digital payment platforms, has taken the nation by storm with its captivating and rewarding gaming experience. Launched as a part of Paytm’s ecosystem, this innovative platform brings together entertainment and gaming, offering players an opportunity to indulge in a diverse array of games while earning exciting rewards.

    Since its inception, Paytm First Games has emerged as a prominent player in India’s gaming industry, catering to an extensive user base with a wide variety of gaming options. From casual games to esports tournaments, the platform offers something for every gaming enthusiast, making it an all-encompassing destination for players of all ages and interests.

    It caters to a wide variety of games and has over 45 million players on board. From their launch in 2018, today they have reached their zenith as e-gaming witnesses its boom in the industry.


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    Games2Win

    Website www.games2winmedia.com
    Headquarters Mumbai, Maharashtra
    Founders Alok Kejriwal and Mahesh Khambadkone
    Founded 2005

    Games2Win - Top gaming platform in India
    Games2Win – Top gaming startups in India

    Since its inception, Games2Win has remained at the forefront of India’s gaming revolution, captivating players worldwide with its innovative and engaging offerings. Established in 2005 by Alok Kejriwal and Mahesh Khambadkone, this dynamic gaming company has become synonymous with top-notch gaming experiences, entertaining millions across the globe. From casual and arcade-style games to simulation and sports titles, the platform caters to a broad spectrum of gaming enthusiasts, ensuring there’s something for everyone.

    They offer ads and social networks for games apart from being a traditional gaming platform. They have over 15 million users every month. Their games are available across Google, Apple, Microsoft and Amazon.


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    Moonfrog Labs

    Website www.moonfroglabs.com
    Headquarters Bangalore, Karnataka
    Founders Tanay Tayal, Kumar Puspesh, and Ankit Jain
    Founded 2013

    Moonfrog Labs - online gaming startups in India
    Moonfrog Labs – Top gaming startups in India

    Moonfrog Labs, an online gaming startup, came into being through the collective efforts of a close-knit group of friends who were once colleagues back in 2013. Their passion and perseverance fueled the creation of a card-based game called “Teen Patti Gold,” which garnered instant acclaim, amassing an impressive 20 million downloads right from its inception.

    Building upon this early success, Moonfrog Labs continued to push the boundaries of gaming innovation. Introducing a game centered around the beloved Bollywood actress Alia Bhatt, they marked India’s first-ever narrative adventure gaming experience.

    They further expanded their creative repertoire, introducing India’s first war strategy game, inspired by the blockbuster movie “Baahubali.” This strategic masterpiece took players on a thrilling journey through epic battles and commanding armies, allowing them to relive the grandeur of the beloved film. With each new venture, Moonfrog Labs solidified its reputation as an innovative and trendsetting force within the gaming industry.


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    99 Games

    Website www.99games.in
    Headquarters Udupi, Karnataka
    Founders Rohith Bhat
    Founded 2006

    99 Games - Top gaming startups in India
    99 Games – Top gaming startups in India

    99 Games is a Udupi-based game company that was launched in 2008 by Rohit Bhat. Their first game Wordsworth became a hit with more than 1 million downloads among Apple users. From developing casual games for iOS, today they have expanded to Windows and Android.

    In 2013, they came across a great opportunity to develop a game based on a Bollywood movie – Dhoom 3.  The success it garnered opened numerous opportunities for 99Games. They subsequently developed 20 more such games. Two of them were based on movies like Fan and Sultan.

    Octro

    Website www.octro.com
    Headquarters New Delhi
    Founders Saurabh Agarwal
    Founded 2006

    Octro - gaming startups in India
    Octro – Top gaming startups in India

    Octro has emerged as a trailblazing force in India’s gaming industry, captivating players with its innovative and immersive gaming experiences. The mastermind behind the famous games Indian Rummy and Tambola House was launched in the year 2006. They introduced the concept of productivity along with gaming in India. Their games are available in various forms and are tailor-made to fit both mobile phones and tablets. Hailing from Delhi, this gaming company’s innovative approach caught the attention of industry giants, and in 2014, they secured an impressive $15 million in funding from Sequoia Capital.


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    JetSynthesys

    Website www.jetsynthesys.com
    Headquarters Pune, Maharashtra
    Founders Rajan Navani
    Founded 2014

    JetSynthesys - Top game development company in India
    JetSynthesys – Top gaming startups in India

    Established in 2014 by Rajan Navani, JetSynthesys is a prominent game development company, operating under the umbrella of the esteemed Jet Line Group. With a diversified presence in fields like fintech and digital media, the Jet Line Group has earned a reputable brand status across various industries.

    JetSynthesys is hailed as a pioneer in the realm of celebrity-based gaming experiences, where they have left an indelible mark. Among their remarkable portfolio, standouts include games like “Sachin Saga Cricket Champions,” “Being Salman,” and “Bajrangi Bhaijaan.” These celebrity-inspired titles have successfully captivated players, offering an immersive and unique gaming journey.

    The company has ventured into newer avenues of gaming, including the realm of virtual reality (VR) games. Demonstrating their pioneering spirit, they have already unveiled the VR version of their acclaimed “Sachin Saga Cricket Champions” game, further enriching the gaming experience for players.


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    Hashcube

    Website www.hashcube.com
    Headquarters Bangalore, Karnataka
    Founders Ramprasad Rajendran and Deepan Chakravarthy
    Founded 2008

    Hashcube - Top gaming company in India
    Hashcube – Top gaming startups in India

    From being a simple website that lets users play sudoku online, Hashcube has developed into one of the top gaming startups in India. Co-founded by Deepan Chakravarthy and Ramprasad Rajendra in 2008, the company’s journey has been nothing short of remarkable.

    Today, Hashcube boasts an impressive range of games, accessible through the iOS App Store, Google Play Store, or Facebook, catering to a diverse audience. Among their standout creations are engaging titles such as “Sudoku Quest,” “Gummy Pop,” and “DotGame.” However, it is their “Sudoku Quest” that has garnered widespread acclaim, resonating with over 2 million players, making it one of the most popular game sensations to emerge from India.


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    Mech Mocha

    Website www.mechmocha.com
    Headquarters Bangalore, Karnataka
    Founders Arpita Kapoor and Mohit Rangaraju
    Founded 2015

    Mech Mocha - Top gaming startups in India
    Mech Mocha – Top gaming startups in India

    Mech Mocha was founded by Arpita Kapoor and Mohit Rangaraju in 2015. Their aim was to make gaming accessible and comprehensible in tier 2 and tier 3 cities.

    They have a variety of games like Ludo, carrom, cricket and knife rain to their credit. They have created a vernacular gaming platform for their users. Their mobile app is called Hello Play. Their growth has been so commendable that they have attracted investors like Accel, Blume Ventures, Shuwei Capital etc. The Indian Gaming startup was acquired by Flipkart in 2020.

    Other Indian Gaming Startups

    Some other gaming startups in India are:

    • PlaySimple Games
    • Rolocule
    • Zapak
    • Deftouch
    • Gameberry Labs

    Conclusion

    As we conclude our exploration of the top gaming startups in India, one thing becomes abundantly clear – the gaming industry in the country is thriving, and its potential knows no bounds. These visionary startups have harnessed the power of technology, creativity, and passion to craft exceptional gaming experiences that have resonated with players worldwide. Embrace the gaming revolution, and let the joy and excitement of these top gaming startups take you on a thrilling journey like never before!

    FAQs

    How many gaming companies are there in India?

    According to Ambitionbox, there are over 333 gaming companies in India.

    Which are the top Gaming Startups in India?

    Top Gaming startups in India are:

    • Dream 11
    • Nazara Technologies
    • Paytm First Games
    • Games2Win
    • Moonfrog Labs
    • 99 Games
    • Octro
    • JetSynthesys
    • Hashcube
    • Mech Mocha

    How are gaming startups contributing to India’s gaming industry?

    Gaming startups in India are playing a crucial role in shaping the gaming landscape by introducing unique and culturally relevant gaming experiences. They are fueling innovation, creating employment opportunities, and establishing India as a significant player in the global gaming market.

    Which is the leading Game app development company in India?

    Hyperlink InfoSystem is a leading game app development company in India.

    Which gaming startup in India has achieved unicorn status?

    Dream11 is one of the gaming startups in India that achieved unicorn status in 2019.

    What are the best game developer company in the world?

    Some of the best game developer companies in the world are:

    • Nintendo
    • Ubisoft
    • Sony Interactive Entertainment
    • Activision Blizzard
    • Epic Games

    How do gaming startups monetize their games?

    Gaming startups typically employ various monetization models, including in-app purchases, advertisements, subscriptions, and virtual currency systems. These strategies enable them to generate revenue while offering players free or freemium gaming experiences.

    What is the future of the gaming industry in India?

    The future for gaming startups in India is promising, with continued growth driven by technology adoption, an expanding user base, and the rise of esports. These startups are poised to explore new genres, embrace emerging technologies, and make India a significant player in the global gaming industry.

  • PokerDangal – India’s Largest Online Poker Gaming Platform

    Company Profile is an initiative by StartupTalky to publish verified information on different startups and organizations. The content in this post has been approved by PokerDangal.

    One great aspect of digitization is the fascinating online games that are taking on the world at a skyrocketing speed. It’s literally like being in this global village of the dream world. To make the online gaming zone more interesting and taking it on the edge, this group of four brilliant entrepreneurs namely Varun Mahna, Varun Puri, Karan Gandhi and Shashwat Jain launched PokerDangal in the year 2017.

    PokerDangal – Company Highlights

    Startup Name PokerDangal
    Headquarters Delhi
    Founders Varun Mahna, Varun Puri, Karan Gandhi and Shashwat Jain
    Sector Online Gaming
    Founded 2017
    Parent Organization Xeta Networks Pvt. Ltd.
    Website pokerdangal.com

    About PokerDangal and How It Works
    PokerDangal – Industry Details
    PokerDangal – Founders and Team
    How was PokerDangal Started?
    PokerDangal – Name, Tagline and Logo
    PokerDangal – Startup Launch
    PokerDangal – USP and Innovation
    PokerDangal – Business Model and Revenue Model
    PokerDangal – Startup Challenges
    PokerDangal – Funding and Investors
    PokerDangal – Acquisitions and Mergers
    PokerDangal – Competitors
    PokerDangal – Growth
    PokerDangal – FAQs

    About PokerDangal and How It Works

    PokerDangal is an Indian online poker gaming platform. It is the flagship product of Xeta Networks Pvt Ltd, an online gaming company from Hatu, Kolkata, West Bengal, India. The game, as goes its title, is a poker game, developed with an aim to redefine Poker in India. PokerDangal was founded in 2017 by Varun Mahna, Varun Puri, and two other co-founders, Shashwat Jain and Karan Gandhi. PokerDangal is currently registered in Kolkata and headquartered in New Delhi. It also has small offices in Kolkata and Chennai as well.

    On www.pokerdangal.com, the users can opt to play a range of exciting tournaments and cash games in a safe game-playing environment.

    PokerDangal is available for desktop users, along with the users of Android and iOS, where they can play three variations of poker:

    • Texas Hold’em Poker, the most popular of the variations in the world
    • Four card pot limit Omaha
    • Five card pot limit Omaha.

    Though the four card pot limit Omaha was already there even before PokerDangal, the five card pot limit Omaha was first introduced by PokerDangal, which has gone on to become the most favourite variation of poker on the platform now. The fast speed and the wide range of probabilities and possibilities are some of the factors that distinguish the five card variation from the rest.

    “It appeals to the statistical and analytical abilities in people,” said Varun.

    While playing any of the three variants of the poker matches in PokerDangal, the players can choose to play individual cash games or get involved in a tournament. Emotional control, analytical ability and strategy are 3 important characteristics that define a good player from the other players.

    The online is at par with the physical game in nearly all thinkable aspects. However, there are only a couple of differences that exist between a physical game and the online PokerDangal. For instance, a player can change his/her strategy when playing a physical game of poker based on the observations from the other players. Another point of difference is that while on a physical game of poker an individual can concentrate only on one game whereas on online PokerDangal he/she can play multiple games together.

    The guiding principle of PokerDangal is to enrich the online gaming industry in India along with extending a safe, reliable, and fun ecosystem for the players of the country.


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    PokerDangal – Industry Details

    The online gaming industry is a brilliant example of a flourishing industry. With the emergence of fantasy gaming platforms and other gaming brands offering a wide range of games of varied nature to the audiences, the gaming industry looks at a bright future ahead.

    The Indian online gaming sector has already reached $1.027 billion in 2020, which stood at around $543 million only in 2016, thereby showing a growth of ~17.3%. The current trajectory that it is exhibiting now would make the industry climb to $2 billion by 2023. Furthermore, the number of online gamers in India, which currently stands at 360 million, is estimated to grow to 510 million by 2022.

    The online poker games, holding the hands of PokerDangal, have already started to disrupt the online gaming industry of India with huge potential.

    How to earn money from online poker games in India

    PokerDangal – Founders and Team

    Varun Mahna, Varun Puri, Shashwat Jain and Karan Gandhi founded PokerDangal in the year 2017.

    The Xeta Networks and PokerDangal founding team.
    The Xeta Networks and PokerDangal founding team.

    Varun Mahna, Founder & CEO – Varun pursued his MBA from XLRI Jamshedpur and graduated in B.E Computer Science from BITS Pilani. Before PokerDangal, he was in the position of HR Lead at Star Sports.

    Varun Puri, Founder & COO – Varun Puri holds a bachelor degree in Mechanical Engineering from BITS Pilani. This is not his first time being an entrepreneur. His first venture was Neevtech India which is a leading exporter of agricultural machinery to Europe.

    Shashwat Jain, Co-Founder & CTO – Shashwat did his Engineering from IIT Dhanbad and has headed the position of VP Analytics for quite a few ventures like Box8, Amazon, Mu Sigma, etc.

    Karan Gandhi, Co-Founder – Karan holds a degree in B.Com from Delhi University and has previously worked in big brands like Zomato and NDTV.

    Currently, PokerDangal has a team of 25 people with the key members being Manan Sobti, Sahil Parakh, Anurag Upadhyay and Akshat Bharadwaj. This team is a close-knit unit with zero attrition in the last 2.5 years.

    How was PokerDangal Started?

    Varun Mahna, the founder of PokerDangal, was a student of BITS Pilani when he was first introduced to poker in 2005. Varun and his friend Varun Puri joined various poker groups and enjoyed playing poker during their university days.

    Varun next joined XLRI Jamshedpur, where poker was again a favourite. With the passage of days, Varun’s love for the game only grew. He then went on to join Star Sports and this is the first time when his attention was drawn towards online poker.

    Varun soon found his interest in online poker and switched to the online form of the game. Online poker was yet a new concept back then but had the potential to disrupt the gaming industry. To leverage this opportunity, Varun decided to found his own company along with his engineering batchmate Varun Puri, Shashwat Jain, Karan Gandhi under the name Xeta Networks, the parent company of PokerDangal, which eventually gave rise to the latter.

    The founders and co-founders together invested close to Rs. 30 lakhs from their personal savings and initially started working from a friend’s house.

    PokerDangal logo
    PokerDangal logo

    The PokerDangal team wanted a catchy name and the one that signified high octane action. The founders turned to be big fans of Bollywood and the movie Dangal inspired them to get an apt name for their gaming startup. There’s a line in the movie that says that “Dangal is not only a physical battle but also a mind game where one has to out-think their opponent.” That is what stayed with the founders and that’s how they decided to call the platform PokerDangal, as it is a mental duel.

    The tagline of PokerDangal is ‘Where Skills Meet Fortune’, which is built with an endeavour of redefining Poker in India. Besides, they also use #AbDangalHoga, which is again inspired by Dangal.

    The logo is a thoughtful mixture of acute sumo who is ready for a battle. It is coloured in a mixture of blue and white and is ingeniously crafted where a silhouette of a sumo wrestler is embedded on one of the chips of poker along with containing the initials of PokerDangal “PD”.

    PokerDangal – Startup Launch

    “We provide an online poker platform available on iOS, Google Play Store and Desktop versions for the users. A user can download our app, create their account, complete their KYC and profile and start playing at a time and place of their convenience.” says the founder proudly.

    Interestingly, users can also deposit and withdraw money in their bank accounts. The business of online gaming is differentiated on customer acquisition, customer retention and customer engagement. With PokerDangal’s core strengths of understanding user behaviour, data analytics, and operational excellence, the tea was able to outpace the market on each of these 3 levels. The prime success in this business depends on how well is the CAC: LTV optimized.

    Since its inception, the team has made major changes to the product and the way they conduct business. The product has been upgraded multiple times post the feedback from the users. Also, they have consistently integrated the feedback to create a better product and this is an ongoing process.

    “From a policy point, we made a big change in April 2018 when we introduced instant cash-out on the platform. A user can withdraw their money 24/7/365 and the money hits the bank account in less than 10 seconds,” said Varun Mahna.

    PokerDangal – USP and Innovation

    The USP of PokerDangal lies in the fact that the platform takes an interest to popularise poker in India and serves as a safe, interesting, and rewarding gaming platform for the existing poker players of the country.

    PokerDangal was the first platform to introduce the five card pot limit Omaha. Furthermore, it also serves as a platform that allows the players to play at multiple tables simultaneously.

    PokerDangal – Business Model and Revenue Model

    PokerDangal has mainly 2 revenue streams.

    1. The first revenue stream is from the tournaments the platform conducts. They charge a 10% service fee on the entry fee for a tournament.
    2. The second revenue stream is from the cash tables, where the platform charges a 3-4% service fee on the amount wagered by the users on the tables.

    9stacks Success Story – Play Poker Online & Earn Money | Funding | Founders | Business Model
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    PokerDangal – Startup Challenges

    The toughest part for PokerDangal was for them to sustain the concurrent traffic on the platform. To make this happen, they came up with a brilliant “refer a friend” program which fueled the traction and incentivized players to refer their friends to play on the PokerDangal platform. Poker as a game is typically learned and played in a group and hence each user on the platform had a circle which the team leveraged to its benefit with this campaign.

    So ideally PokerDangal made its users its brand ambassadors where they were getting tremendous value to refer their friends as well. Refer a friend as a marketing tool has multiple benefits – it is relatively cheap and it creates a very positive brand image for the consumers being referred. For the initial months, spends on this campaign were very limited but the team did a lot of strategic tie-ups to ensure that they are reaching out to the target consumers most effectively. As a part of the plan, they also tied up with some of the top B-schools and Engineering colleges in the country and promoted PokerDangal during their annual festivals and meets. Interestingly, those partnerships are still in place and PokerDangal is now the official gaming partner for colleges like XLRI, MDI, etc.

    Also, one of the most challenging parts was when PokerDangal was just 6 months old and wanted to raise some funds to scale the business operations. The founder team identified that to sustain in the industry it is important to hasten their user acquisition which in turn required a significant spend. So they decided to reach out to a few angel investors to understand the sentiments about the industry and they got a lot of positive responses from the people whom they reached out to. And they were finally funded by an angel investor in July 2018.

    PokerDangal’s biggest success was successfully implementing instant cash-outs which allows the users to withdraw their winnings in just 30 seconds to their bank accounts 24/7. This strategic shift was a huge change in the way the team conducted the business operations.


    Gamerji Success Story | e-Sports Tournament Platform | Funding | Business Model | Founders
    Company Profile is an initiative by StartupTalky to publish verified informationon different startups and organizations. The content in this post has beenapproved by the organization it is based on. With the board games and the outdoor games going out of the trend, came in thee-sport games that …


    PokerDangal – Funding and Investors

    PokerDangal has raised a total of Rs. 7.30 crores in its latest funding round. The funding stabilized PokerDangal and helped in scaling the operations optimally.

    Date Deal Type Amount
    Jan 2021 Series A Rs. 7.30 Crores
    Aug 2018 Angel Investors

    PokerDangal – Acquisitions and Mergers

    In the first year, PokerDangal acquired a struggling poker platform named PokerMet. The team acquired PokerMet’s user base, assets and merged its operations with PokerDangal.

    PokerDangal – Competitors

    Some of the big players in this segment are Adda52, Pocket52, and PokerStars. The sector is very cut-throat and one has to be on their toes to stay competitive. The focus on providing a delightful customer experience is a key differentiator for this online gaming business. The users need a platform where they have complete faith and hence it is important to be transparent in the policies and actions. PokerDangal is amongst one of the firms to have the best customer support system and that was the key to their growth. Also, this was the first company in the country to introduce instant cash-out and 5 cards PLO which are hugely popular with the user base.  

    PokerDangal – Growth

    • The registered user base of more than 2,00,000 players.
    • A monthly deposit of more than INR 4.9 Crores.
    • The business saw a 14x growth over the last 12 months.
    • The average monthly turnover is INR 60 Crores.
    • The monthly revenue clocked in October 2019 was INR 2.5 Crores.
    • Tagged as an EBITDA positive company.
    • Amongst the top 4 real money poker sites.
    • PokerDangal is about to enter the fantasy/rummy business.

    PokerDangal – FAQs

    Who are the Founders of PokerDangal?

    Varun Mahna, Varun Puri, Shashwat Jain and Karan Gandhi founded PokerDangal in the year 2017.

    What does PokerDangal Offer?

    PokerDangal offers a plethora of exciting tournaments and cash games to the players who want to put their skills to test in online Poker.

    How much is PokerDangal Funding to date?

    PokerDangal has raised a total of Rs. 7.30 crores in its series A funding round.

    How much is PokerDangal’s Turnover?

    A monthly deposit of more than INR 4.9 Crores. The business saw a 14x growth over the last 12 months. The average monthly turnover is INR 60 Crores. The monthly revenue clocked in October 2019 was INR 2.5 Crores.

  • Business Model of Discord | How does Discord make money

    The gamers often find it difficult to communicate and coordinate between their matches. But, ever since the foundation of the gamers’ exclusive communication platform in order to facilitate them in so-called servers. And that communication platform is Discord. The company is widely famous among gamers for its incredible and smooth features. Discord was founded in 2015 and its headquarter is established in San Francisco. Discord has grown very promptly and today, the company is counted among the most distinguished chat applications, at the global level.

    ‌‌With the rising gaming technology, gamers are looking forward to various applications to make their gaming convenient and joyful. As Discord fulfills the requirements of gamers, they prefer it over any other application. With such fan loyalty, Discord has more than 100 million active users widened across 6.7 million servers. In this article, we will be discussing the success and business strategies followed by this very prominent chatting app, Discord. Let’s begin!

    About Discord
    Top features of Discord
    ‌‌Target Audience of Discord
    Business Model of Discord
    What is Unique about Discord Business Model?
    How does Discord make money?
    FAQ

    Revenue of Discord from 2016 to 2020
    Revenue of Discord from 2016 to 2020

    About Discord

    ‌‌The gamers face great difficulties in communicating and coordinating with their teammates during any match. There are few companies such as TeamSpeak and Skype that offer worthwhile chatting features but they don’t provide substandard call quality, many security issues, poor group chatting, and resource-heavy operations. This causes some major functionality issues for the gamers. And on that note, Discord is the company that facilitates all the requirements of the gamers.

    ‌‌With Jason Citron as the CEO and Stanislav Vishnevskiy as the CTO of discords, works brilliantly towards the customers serving features and developing Discord which respects the passion of gamers. Discord is an absolutely free, secured, and high-quality texting gaming application. Moreover, Discord offers tons of free services for their customers without exhibiting any advertisements.

    Top features of Discord

    ‌‌Discord offers tons of customer-based services, especially for gamers. It runs with different segments including Nitro, server boosting, and others. These segments carry various verified features to boost its all-in-one video, voice, and texting. Some of the top features of Discord included Personal profile, Bigger uploads, Better Emoji collection, Support Server, and many others.

    ‌‌Target Audience of Discord

    ‌‌Discord majorly focuses on targeting the audience based on their building. Discord searches for groups and communities for gaming that are young, tech-savvy, and creative. The company acknowledges its customers and provides great customer service.


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    Business Model of Discord

    ‌‌Discord follows a subtle business model with a customer base of 87 million. Discord mobile application is completely free and secure. The company does not charge any extra money for future perspectives or its substantial features.

    Discord entirely focuses on providing hassle-free communication applications for gamers. Discord puts great efforts into the voice chat integration service in the gaming sector. The company offers a free tool, named Gamebridge for the purpose of helping developers in the integration of the application for various games.

    ‌‌Moreover, the company offers tons of other features also including Streamkit and Rich Presence. These facilitate the free cost service where the gamers can list their matches and games in the Discord mobile application.

    ‌‌Discord is widely famous among gamers, this provides great benefit for the company, in capitalizing on the networking effects which enhances the value by increasing the user’s counts. The current valuation of Discord is around $7 billion along with the recent investment worth $20 million.

    What is Unique about Discord Business Model?

    ‌‌In the initial days of Discord establishment in the market, the company entirely focused on improving its products in order to attract the audience as well as the entire gaming community, rather than optimizing its efforts towards the upliftment.

    Discord did tremendous efforts into putting a distinguished position in the market, especially to the gaming community. As the audience got attracted towards its features, it brought continuous money to the company.

    ‌‌Today, the company has optimized its products and features and gained over 200 million users. Discord’s revenue sources are pretty strong and bring great deals for the company.


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    How does Discord make money?

    ‌‌Discord’s revenue sources are very uplifting. The company uses several monetization strategies to bring out profit. These are:

    Discord Nitro

    This is basically a paid game subscription package at the price of $9.99 per month or $99.99 per year. This subscription package is a spontaneous agenda for interested users in order to support the Discord application.

    This package includes animated avatars on your profile, custom emojis, a personal Discord tag, a large upload limit of up to 50MB for an image, a specialized Nitro profile badge, and many more.

    Merchandise Store

    Discord has a specialized merchandise store where it sells branded hoodies, T-shirts, socks, etc. The company gets little revenue from each sale. Through this, the company promotes its application and lets the users contribute to the growth of the company.

    Discord Merchandise
    Discord Merchandise

    Game Store

    Discord has its personalized game store at a global scale where the game developers sell their games. This allows numerous game developers to self-publish their game on its store and get a 90% share of total revenue. Discord charges a 10% share for distributing the games. This covers up all the operating costs of the company.

    Discord Game Store
    Discord Game Store

    Funds and Investments

    Many big companies invest in Discord. Through this, Discord optimizes its features from the prospect of International market growth. The company has raised around $280 million in its latest funding round and this has resulted in extending the company’s valuation worth $2.05 billion.

    Conclusion

    ‌‌Discord has brought great convenience and contribution to the gaming community. It provides the gamers with the facility of communicating and coordinating smoothly. Besides this, the company offers tons of other features and specialized programs. The gamers connect with the Discord application vibrantly and this brings great outcomes.

    FAQ

    Who is the CEO of Discord?

    Jason Citron is the CEO of Discord.

    What is the valuation of Discord?

    The valuation of Discord is $7 billion as of 2020.

    Did Microsoft buy Discord?

    Microsoft has been intalks with Discord to acquire it for $10 billion.

  • Whomp – Live Gaming Platform for Cricket Enthusiasts

    Company Profile is an initiative by StartupTalky to publish verified information on different startups and organizations. The content in this post has been approved by Whomp.

    Time and again, an app comes into play that floods up the market share. Online fantasy sports and e-gaming has become more common in the last 2 decades and shockingly it has secured top gear in India. Ever since the pandemic, sports events have been put on a halt, the mass have shifted themselves towards the exciting world of online gaming.

    Online fantasy gaming is the only feature in the gaming sector where a user can play any number of sports with their friends whilst communicating with them in real-time. It’s obvious that online fantasy sports startups have been a boon to all of the gamers and even, non-gamers too. Whomp is a live cricket gaming app, where users can play a live auction in a gaming format.

    Read on to know more about The Whomp company profile below!

    Whomp – Company Highlights

    Startup Name Whomp
    Headquarter Ahmedabad
    Founder Varun Gajjar
    Sector Gaming
    Founding Year 2020
    Website link whomp.in
    Registered Entity Name Whomp Pvt. Limited

    Whomp – About and How It Works
    Whomp – Founder
    How Whomp Started?
    Whomp – Name, Logo and Tagline
    Whomp – Vision and Mission
    Whomp – Target Market Size
    Whomp – Products/ Services
    Whomp – Startup Launch
    Whomp – Business and Revenue Model
    Whomp – Competitors
    Whomp – Challenges
    Whomp – Coupon Code/ Offers
    Whomp – Future Plans
    Whomp – FAQs

    Whomp – About and How It Works

    One gaming app hit the market and BAM! There is no way that the app is going down. One such app for every Indian comes to life now. It allows its users to play cricket games and also, they can communicate with their friends simultaneously while enjoying real cricket auction.

    Whomp is an interactive gaming platform where every cricket fan can play and experience a live auction. The Indian gaming industry has started to boom in the startup culture. It has been observed that cricket games are played by 74% of gamers on fantasy gaming apps over any other sports.

    Fantasy sports platforms could potentially be considered as a means for earning increments by comparatively lower income groups, leading to an increased engagement on the platform.

    Whomp – Founder

    The Whomp gaming app is founded by Varun Gajjar.

    Varun Gajjar is the sole founder of Whomp, with a strong supporting team. He has done his Masters in Business from Monash University, Australia. Till his Post education he has worked in his family’s company – Varuna Pumps, which started in 1935. He worked as the Head of Sales & Marketing for 8 years, handling a team of 180 persons across 18 offices with an export business to more than 50 countries.

    After this, he joined in as an investor in Gamerji: an eSports tournament platform where there are daily matches conducted for games such as Clash Royale, Call of Duty, Free Fire etc. Being a part of the gaming business and community, he has learned many aspects of running a gaming platform. This not only provided him with the foundation and understanding knowledge of the industry but inspired him to launch his own gaming company – Whomp.

    The hiring funda is simple, candidates for management positions are from top-grade universities like IIT and the one’s in the task-based departments have young local talents. The young local talents’ previously have never received the opportunity to lead, so the company intends to give them that.


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    How Whomp Started?

    It was a Eureka moment when the idea got hit at the time of IPL Auction. Varun and his friends used to play a friendly auction during the IPL season. The fun part was, that they would use chits and maintain excel spreadsheets for the scores. Whilst playing this way, they thought that why not create an app that can have a live auction in a gaming format. And that’s where the original idea struck.

    Further working on this, they researched it well and realized a similar model is played in the USA for the NFL draft, so taking important insights from it, they created their first prototype. After seeing the initial success, they launched the product. During the COVID-19 pandemic and series of endless lockdowns, there was a complete halt on

    all sporting activities and he quite missed talking to friends. This is when; they started using HouseParty app, and taking inspiration from that, they thought of a format where players can talk to their friends through the app to discuss the game.

    Whomp – Name, Logo and Tagline

    Whomp- Name, Logo and Tagline
    Whomp- Name, Logo and Tagline

    WHOMP pronounced as /wɒmp/ and the name means strike heavily or a thump. As the name already sounds so cool, everyone liked it and hence named the app. Also, it is short and easy to pronounce. The Whomp logo is inspired by the colour of a trophy or a gold medal, to showcase winning.

    Whomp – Vision and Mission

    Whomp keeps up with the mission to create a gaming app for cricket and sports fans, by giving them a platform to play as well as to communicate with their friends online, while enjoying real cricket action. The short-term vision is to acquire 3 lakhs + users by the end of this cricket season. The company strongly believes that to keep the user engaged, they have to give ‘one of a kind’ user experience to users by the introducing new games and updates in every couple of months.

    Whomp – Target Market Size

    The gaming industry in India is growing rapidly. According to a Google-KPMG report, the Indian online gaming segment is to reach $1.1 billion by 2021. India is also among the top five mobile gaming markets in the world, with around 300 million gamers. Also, BofA securities recent report has stated that India’s gaming user base will reach 486 million by 2022.

    With mobile phone and internet penetration and rise in interest towards gaming, it can be seen that the mobile gaming industry will be growing stupendously in the next decade.

    Whomp – Products/ Services

    Presently the platform has the Live Fantasy Auction game and shortly it will have 2 other games, Super Selector and Daily Dabba.

    The feature that differentiates Whomp from other online gaming fantasy apps is: that you can talk to your friends while playing the game. Also, it lets you play with your friends rather than competing with strangers. It is also free of cost and has no age restrictions, and is available on Android Play Store and iOS app store.

    Whomp app | Play with your friends
    Whomp app | Play with your friends

    Whomp – Startup Launch

    The team used digital platforms to launch Whomp. They acquired 1000 users on Day 1 and by Day 10, it was already to 35,000. Based on team’s experience, they had strategically chosen the preferred channels for Whomp, and they had a clear-cut intention to deep dive into these channels rather than just going wide at this stage. Their online campaigns helped in brand awareness and reaching out to like-minded potential users.

    Whomp – Business and Revenue Model

    The Whomp revenue model is simple. It works on in-app purchases, advertisements, brand partnerships and integrations with other apps.

    Whomp – Competitors

    As online gaming industry is on the rise, there are quite a few competitors of Whomp.

    Whomp – Challenges

    One of the most challenging situations the startup faced was on Day 8, where they had 10,000 downloads in one day and the server was not built to take that much of a load. To tackle the issue efficiently, they had to work hard overnight to bring everything on track. They eventually did manage it but they had to face some dissatisfied users. This lead to creating a CRM department to handle user queries.


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    Whomp – Coupon Code/ Offers

    For StartupTalky Valued Readers and Whomp Users, use coupon: “Talky500” and avail offer now!

    Whomp – Future Plans

    Since, they are very new at the moment, so taking one step at a time, they are eventually updating features within a month. They are introducing new features through which they plan to monetize the business in upcoming months.

    Whomp – FAQs

    What is Whomp?

    Whomp is an interactive gaming platform where every cricket fan can play and experience a live auction.

    Is there any Whomp coupon code available?

    Yes, for StartupTalky Valued Readers and Whomp Users, use coupon: “Talky500”.

    Who is the Founder of Whomp?

    Varun Gajjar is the sole founder of Whomp.

    When was Whomp Founded?

    Whomp was founded during the Pandemic in 2020.


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  • Gamerji: Providing Pro-level Online Gaming Experience

    Company Profile is an initiative by StartupTalky to publish verified information on different startups and organizations. The content in this post has been approved by Gamerji.

    With board games and outdoor games going out of the trend, the e-sport games took the world to a whole new playing experience. And with the advancements in technology like Artificial Intelligence and Virtual Reality, the online gaming experience keeps getting better than ever. And to provide a pro-level of e-sport gaming experience, Soham Thacker and Varun Gajjar launched Gamerji in 2019.

    Gamerji – Company Highlights

    Startup Name Gamerji
    Headquarter Ahmedabad
    Sector Gaming)/e-Sports
    Founders Soham Thacker
    Founded 2019
    Parent Organization Fantasy Games LLP
    Website www.GamerJi.com

    About Gamerji and How it Works
    Gaming Industry Details
    Gamerji – Founders and Team
    How was Gamerji Started
    Gamerji – Name, Tagline and Logo
    Gamerji – User Acquisition and Growth
    Gamerji – Business Model and Revenue Model
    Gamerji – Startup Challenges
    Gamerji – Funding and Investors
    Gamerji – Competitors
    Gamerji – Awards
    Gamerji – Future Plans
    Gamerji – FAQs

    About Gamerji and How it Works

    Gamerji is an Online Gaming Platform on Android and iOS devices. It has a unique feature of soliciting tournaments for popular e-sports games like PUBG, Clash Royale, Call of Duty, etc.

    Gamerji is an e-sports tournament platform in India for gamers to compete, communicate, share content and win cash prizes by conducting more than 20 tournaments every day. It is a platform where gamers can leverage their gaming skills and make more from the hours spent. Gamerji aims at becoming the largest virtual e-sports platform in the country by 2021 and a place for all the gamers to come and make the most of their skills.

    Once a user registers on the app they can join tournaments for an entry fee and get to compete with other gamers. Gamerji’s team moderates the tournaments for fair play and in the end, the winners are given cash prizes. You can sign up with Gamerji pro promo codes.


    Gamerji E-Sport Tournament

    Gaming Industry Details

    The gaming industry is worth $1.5 Billion and India comprises a $160 Million gamer market to cater to. However, the gaming industry is fairly new in India and is growing at more than 38% annually. The industry will cross the $20 Billion mark in the next 5 years making it comparable to the likes of a real sport.

    Gamerji – Founders and Team

    The Founders of Gamerji are Soham Thacker & Varun Gajjar.

    Soham Thacker, Founder, Gamerji

    They met through social connections in the year 2014. Soham had recently moved from the US and was looking to build connections in the city. Varun at the time was the Marketing Head of his family-owned business of manufacturing water pumps. Soham & Varun decided to work on Fix Pocket- a service marketplace before deciding to work on Gamerji, the e-sports platform.

    Soham Thacker: A Computer Engineer from the USA, Soham moved to India in 2012 after having worked for multinational companies such as SAP & Motorola. His most successful venture was Just Mexican- a fast food restaurant chain that grew from a food truck to 13 restaurants in 2 years. He successfully exited the venture in 2015.

    Varun Gajjar: Varun was the sales & marketing head at La Gajjar Machineries which owns the brand Varuna Pumps – one of the most successful pump manufacturing companies in Gujarat, India established in 1935. Varun played a vital role in the merger of Varuna pumps with Kirloskar Oil Engines Pvt Ltd. in 2018.


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    The global gaming market was valued at $ 151.55 billion in 2019 . This industryis expected to reach a value of $ 256.97 billion by 2025. It is expected toregister a CAGR of 9.17% over the period (2020 – 2025). Gamer’s experience iswhat all the emerging comapnies are focusing at. Every company i…


    How was Gamerji Started

    “We are average gamers who never got a chance to play professionally or gain any benefits by playing online games. There are multiple e-sports tournaments hosted worldwide for pro-level gamers, but what about the 99.9% of the other casual gamers who still spend hours every day playing the same game?” Said the founders of Gamerji.

    And this made them realize the gap and the potential of hosting virtual tournaments where these gamers get a chance to make a mark and also make money. Hence Gamerji was born.

    Gamerji Team

    The logic behind the name “Gamerji” is that gamers and gaming deserve respect like any other sports and athletes and hence the venture was named Gamerji.

    GamerJi Logo

    Gamerji – User Acquisition and Growth

    Gamerji pro has launched with a tournament AirDrop 1.0 inviting pro-level gamers and hence generating immediate interest in the community. The interface, getting instant prize money and playing at convenience is what has attracted the users in the first place.

    Gamerji – Business Model and Revenue Model

    The Gamerji revenue is generated via League Joinings and Sponsored Leagues.

    • League Joinings: Once a user registers on the app they can join tournaments for an entry fee and get to compete with other gamers. A percentage of the joining amount is distributed as winnings and the rest is kept by Gamerji as platform fees.
    • Sponsored Leagues: Companies in order to to market their brand to the gaming audience can sponsor a tournament.

    Gamerji has 300,000+ registered gamers on the platform with an average league joining fee of INR 25 per entry. The startup’s revenues is growing exponentially and Gamerji expects to generate more than INR 3 crore revenue by the end 2020. The Gamerji app is available to download on both the Play store and the App store.


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    Gamerji – Startup Challenges

    One of the milestones that Gamerji faced was the trust placement of the consumers.

    It is very important to build trust among the users for your platform, especially if they are paying customers.

    In response to this, the team conducted certain free tournaments for users to get used to the platform and tried to convince them that payments are legitimately made by the platform.

    Gamerji – Funding and Investors

    In 2020, the Gamerji funding saw it raise $400k led by La Gajjar Group.

    The startup will be using this fund for building the technology, increasing operations, and also for gaining users.

    Date Stage Amount Investor
    2019 Angel round INR 1.25cr Varun Gajjar
    Jan 2020 Seed $400k La Gajjar Group


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    As per a KPMG report[https://assets.kpmg/content/dam/kpmg/in/pdf/2019/08/india-media-entertainment-report-2019.pdf] published in 2019, over 300 million people in India play online games. Onlinereal-money gaming that entered India around a decade ago, is also gaining muchpopularity, the reason b…


    Gamerji – Competitors

    WorldGaming, UMG Gaming, and Playtonia are the Top competitors of Gamerji.

    GamingMonk, Flixy Games, NODWIN Gaming, PokerDangal, Mech Mocha, Octro, Dream11 and more in the Gaming Sector also poses significant competition to Gamerji


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    Gamerji – Awards

    The awards and recognition gained by Gamerji are as follows:

    • Selected as the only company from India for Qatar Sports Tech program
    • Top 100 Startups by Startup Istanbul
    • Top 28 Startups by India Fund Fest

    Gamerji – Future Plans

    Gamerji is currently operating with 300K+ gamers on the platform from across India. Gamerji has conducted more than 3200 tournaments in the last 6 months and plans to hit a million user mark by 2020.

    Gamerji – FAQs

    What is Gamerji?

    Gamerji is an e-sports tournament platform in India for gamers to compete, communicate, share content and win cash prizes by conducting more than 20 tournaments every day

    Who are the Founders of Gamerji?

    The Founders of Gamerji are Soham Thacker & Varun Gajjar

    Is Gamerji Safe?

    All information gathered on Gamerji is securely stored within the controlled database. These safeguards vary depending upon the sensitivity of the information collected and stored

    How does Gamerji make money?

    Gamerji generates its revenue via League Joinings and Sponsored Leagues. Gamerji has 300,000+ registered gamers on the platform with an average league joining fee of Rs 25 per entry.

    Who are the Top Competitors of Gamerji?

    WorldGaming, UMG Gaming, and Playtonia are the Top competitors of Gamerji.

  • Startups funded by Rakesh Jhunjhunwala

    Jhunjhunwala is the chairman of Aptech Limited and Hungama Digital Media Entertainment Pvt. Ltd. and sits on the board of directors of Prime Focus Limited, Geojit Financial Services, Bilcare Limited, Praj Industries Limited, Provogue India Limited, Concord Biotech Limited, Innovasynth Technologies (I) Limited, Mid-Day Multimedia Limited, Nagarjuna Construction Company Limited, Viceroy Hotels Limited and Tops Security Limited.

    He is popularly referred to as the “Warren Buffett of India” and the “King of Bull Market”.

    Jhunjhunwala’s stocks fell by up to 30% in December 2011. He recovered his losses in February 2012. These ups and downs forced him to reduce his vulnerability by trimming his portfolio to one-third.

    His attempts to divest his Aptech stake had no takers. Jhunjhunwala invested ₹26 Crores (US$3.4 Million) in A2Z Maintenance increasing his stake in the company by 3.57%, upping his stake in the company to 23.2%.

    Rakesh Jhunjhunwala startup investment in India
    Rakesh Jhunjhunwala startup investment in India

    The first big profit of Rakesh Jhunjhunwala was ₹5 lakh in 1986. During 1986 – 1989, he earned almost ₹20-25 lakh profit. As of 2020, his biggest investment is in Titan Company which is worth ₹4,758 Crores (approx. US$600 Million).

    Rakesh Jhunjhunwala will start by investing in the start-up scene of India. Mobile gaming firm Nazara Technologies, based in Mumbai, announced the acquisition of minority stake in the company for an estimated $27.99 mins by investor Rakesh Jhunjhunwala (INR 180 Cr).

    Investment from Rakesh Jhunjhunwala follows the $51.1 million financing round led in the beginning of this month by the IIFL Special Opportunities Fund. “We are happy to have Rakesh Jhunjhunwala as an investor at Nazara and it is a great validation of the value increases that Nazara delivers to its existing shareholders,” said Nitish Mittersain, Managing Director and founder, Nazara Technologies.

    Nazara Technologies is a mobile gaming company which acquires, adds value and sells mobile games in emerging markets. It offers massive mobile internet users mobile gaming subscriptions which consist of mainly mobile gamers in Africa, the Near East and Southeast Asia, Latin America and the Indian subcontinent for the first time. Rakesh Jhunjhunwala commented on his investment, “I still look forward to promising businesses that are the pioneers in high vertical growth. In the mobile game market, Nazara is a leading company. Nazara has a clear history of benefit delivery, cash flow, effective capital use and high ROE.

    Nutrition startup Fullife Healthcare
    Nazara Technologies
    Conclusion
    FAQs

    Nutrition startup Fullife Healthcare

    Nutrition startup Fullife Healthcare raises ₹50 crore from Rakesh Jhunjhunwala and other investors.

    At its latest round, Fullife Healthcare is the organization that runs the Fast & Up brand for sports nutritional supplements.

    The financing comes from established Rakesh Jhunjhunwala and Sixth Sense investors and Amansa Capital’s latest investment company Akash Prakash. One of the first supporters of the organization was Jhunjhunwala.

    The business is widening its product range with recent investment and also aiming to add new markets, including the United States and Europe. In Italy it is already present.

    Nazara Technologies

    Rakesh Jhunjhunwala- Nazara Technologies
    Rakesh Jhunjhunwala- Nazara Technologies

    They are the leading diversified gaming and sports media network in India and developing and developed world markets such as Africa and North America, as well as providing services in the digital gaming, electronic sports and early learning ecosystems.

    Mobile gaming company based in Mumbai submitted initial public bids documents on Friday to industry regulators. The business is renowned for the World Cricket and Chhota Bheem and Motu Patlu Championship games. Nazara is one of the largest digital gaming and sports media companies in India.

    Nazara Technologies, founded in 2000 by Nitish Mittersain, is a developer and publisher of mobile games offering unique services as the Games Club, and an exclusive dealer for key developers of games like Electronic Arts, for instance. The business operates in Dubai, London, Africa, Singapore and in Mumbai. And it operates in developing markets in 61 more countries.

    In India, Nazara has been licensed to use the mobile gaming rights of famous IPs such as Virat Kohli, Hrithik Roshan, Chhota Bheem, Royal Challengers-Bangalore, aand Motu Patlu. As of September 2017, in its network of Games on the Google Play Store, Nazara has been able to download more than 34 minutes of its monthly users, according to Nazara. The company also announced in the same month plans for an IPO of $156.5% by the end of FY18.

    The online gaming industry in India estimates to be over $360mn worth, and is expected to rise to $1tons by 2021, according to the Google KPMG report published in May 2017. It is likely that this industry will cross over 310mn gamers throughout the country. The segment’s tremendous potential and offered an opportunity to explore several startups. Two more Smaaash and Passion Gaming start-ups have raised $3.8 million and $3.7 million in funding last month.

    India makes up approximately 13% of the world’s online mobile gaming population, according to the data available. However, while the industry has expanded rapidly in recent years, most firms have faced difficulties in breaking down. In FY17, the company generated revenues in excess of $86 million (INR 550 cr) and income in excess of $10.3 million (INR 66 cr). This investment by Rakesh Jhunjhunwala as an accomplished investor is another confirmation of the profitable and sustainable gaming start-up model.

    Conclusion

    Nazara has invested and acquired in various gaming categories, including Esport, edutainment and infotainment, sports fantasy, multiplayer games such as carom and mobile crickets, over the years in order to increase its role in the gaming and sports sector. Others are the leading investors, in addition to Jhujhunwala, Plutus Wealth Management, IIFL Special Opportunities Fund.

    FAQs

    Who is Rakesh Jhunjhunwala?

    Rakesh Jhunjhunwala is a business magnate, one of the most renowned and successful stock market investors in India. He has made a great fortune by trading and investing in stocks. He is an inspiration for all those who want to succeed in the Indian Stock Market.

    What is the net worth of Rakesh Jhunjhunwala?

    The net worth of Mr. Rakesh Jhunjhunwala is estimated to be $3.3 Billion.

    What is Fullife Healthcare?

    Fullife Healthcare is a startup that sells sports nutrition supplements under the brand Fast & Up.

    What is Nazara?

    Nazara is a digital gaming and sports media company in India.

    Who is the king of share market in India?

    Rakesh Jhunjhunwala is known as the King of the Share market in India. He is popularly referred to as the “Warren Buffett of India” and the “King of Bull Market”.