Junglee Games acqui-hires gaming startup Algorin TechLabs

San Francisco and Delhi-based skill-gaming platform Junglee Games has acqui-hired gaming startup Algorin TechLabs.

As part of the deal, a team of 20 people from Algorin, along with founders Vijay Varma and Abhishek Bharti, have joined Junglee Games to help build fantasy sports products.

Junglee and Algorin recently co-developed Howzat, a fantasy sports platform that supports sports such as cricket, football and kabaddi. 

With the launch of Howzat, the two startups aim to tap the potential of the $150 billion fantasy sports industry, said an official statement from Junglee Games.

The acquisition will help consolidate Junglee’s position in the skill-gaming space. The company also wants to build on its presence in the Indian market, the statement said.

“With the two businesses coming together, we at Junglee Games are excited to look forward to the next phase of skill games and the untapped $150 billion market. More importantly, we are quite excited to have a values-aligned team joining hands with us,” said Ankush Gera, founder and chief executive officer, Junglee Games. 

“Culturally, both the companies are aligned and now with Howzat, we hope to combine our knowledge and tech expertise in order to produce high skill games for the ever-increasing demand in the country,” said Bharti, co-founder, Algorin TechLabs.

Algorin, the Bengaluru-based startup founded in November 2017, has developed skill-based fantasy games such as PlayFantasy and JustKhel. 

Junglee was founded in 2012 by Gera, a former founder and chairman of app developer Monsoon Company. The platform claims to have over 25 million users across the globe and plans to expand its operations to the US and the UK. The startup has employees working in countries such as Hong Kong, Austria, Canada, Argentina and Poland.

Earlier this month, media reports said Junglee Games plans to reach the mark of 40 million users across the globe by the end of the financial year 2019-20. 

Recent developments in the gaming sector

Mumbai-based mobile gaming startup Nazara Technologies acquired a majority stake in Delhi-based video games developer Sports Unity. The acquisition is expected to help Nazara expand its presence in the gaming genres of quiz and trivia.

Earlier this month, online gaming platform SoStronk raised an undisclosed amount from IP Ventures. The startup said it plans to harness funds raised to diversify its offerings and expand into markets such as Australia and Indonesia.

In August, it was reported that fantasy gaming unicorn Dream11 was in talks to raise around $500 million from SoftBank Vision Fund, Naspers Ventures and Tiger Global Management.