Matrix Partners leads $8 mn round in gaming startup Zupee

Gurugram-based Indipepper Media, which owns skill-based gaming platform Zupee, has raised $8 million in a Series A round led by venture capital firm Matrix Partners India.

Private equity fund manager WestCap Group, venture capital firms Falcon Edge Capital, Orios Venture Partners and returning investor Smile Group also participated in the round, a statement said.

In 2018, the company raised $1 million in a seed round from incubator Smile Group, according to data on VCCEdge.

Founded in 2018 by IIT Kanpur graduates Dilsher Singh Malhi and Siddhant Saurabh, Zupee conducts online quiz competitions on current affairs across topics such as sports, academics and entertainment. It claims to have over 2,000 active tournaments per day. Available in English and Hindi, the app has over 5 million downloads on Google Play.

The company plans to use the latest capital infusion to develop technology, hiring talent and marketing.

“Our strong growth in the last year has reaffirmed our faith in building a gaming app that combines people’s love for trivia and quizzes with a chance to win real money. We at Zupee are geared to serve 100 million users,” Dilsher Singh Malhi, co-founder and CEO of Zupee said.

Zupee estimates India’s online gaming market growth at 40% per year, reaching $14 billion by 2025. The company claims that it has been growing higher-than-industry levels in terms of user base and online traffic.

Deal-making activity in gaming has been slow in the recent past. In 2019, Nazara Technologies acquired a majority stake in Delhi-based video game developer Sports Unity and preschool entertainment app Kiddopia. In September same year, online gaming platform SoStronk raised an undisclosed amount in funding from IP Ventures.