
Games24x7, a Mumbai-headquartered startup that owns and operates multiple real money games including RummyCircle, My11Circle has raised $75 million in a new financing round, it said on Wednesday. The funding saw the participation of the existing investors TigerGlobal and Raine Group and was led by Malabar Investments.
The round valued the startup at $2.5 billion, helping it to find a place in the fast growing list of unicorns. Prior to Games24x7, India has seen gaming unicorns in Dream11 and MPL. MPL in the last funding round was valued at $2.3 billion. Dream11 in last funding round was valued at above $8 billion.
Games24x7 said in a statement that it is now India’s most valuable “multi-game platform.” The 15-year-old firm says it has amassed more than 100 million users. Most of its users play its fantasy sports title, but the startup earns the vast majority of its revenue from its card-based game.
“We are extremely happy to partner with Malabar Investment and to see Tiger Global and Raine Group continue to repose their faith in us. This investment is a testimony not only to Games24x7’s performance, but also to India’s immense potential as an online skill gaming market,” said Trivikraman Thampy, co-founder and chief executive of Games24x7, in a statement.
The startup’s total income in the financial year that ended in March last year was $173 million. Its profit after tax during this period stood at $50.5 million, according to a report on TechCrunch.
“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 at Malabar Investments, in a statement.
“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 rigour, the thoughtfulness and the strive for excellence that the fantastic leadership team brings to the table. We are excited to partner with Games24x7 on its growth journey ahead.”