Gaming platform MPL close to morphing into unicorn after latest Series D funding

Sequoia Capital-backed fantasy gaming and esports platform Mobile Premier League (MPL) has raised $95 million (about Rs 695 crore) in a Series D round of fundraising.

The latest round was led by Composite Capital and Moore Strategic Ventures, with participation from Base Partners, RTP Global, SIG, Go-Ventures, Telstra Ventures, Founders Circle and Play Ventures, the company said in a statement.

With this, Bengaluru-based MPL is now valued at $945 million and the total capital raised by the firm over the past three years stands at $225.5 million, it added.

MPL had raised $90 million (about Rs 650 crore) in a round in September 2020, welcoming new investors such as SIG Global, RTP Global, MDI Ventures and Pegasus Tech Ventures. At the time, it was valued at $450 million (about Rs 3,280 crore), almost half the valuation it has hit now.

Last week, MPL also announced raising $500,000 from employees.

In April 2019, it raised $35.5 million in its Series A round led by venture capital firm Sequoia Capital.

The firm’s early investors include Sequoia, Go-Ventures and Times Internet.

MPL will use the fresh influx of funds to expand its esports portfolio. The funds will also be used to accelerate international expansion this year, the company stated. 

Galactus Funware Technology Pvt Ltd owns and operates the gaming platform that was founded in 2018 by Sai Srinivas and Shubh Malhotra.

MPL offers games in India and Indonesia. It also initiated esports festival College Premier League (CPL), which saw participation from 13,000 gamers and more than 100 colleges in India in November-December 2020.

The platform claims to have over 60 million users in India and more than 3.5 million users in Indonesia. 

The startup currently employees over 500 personnel with offices in Bengaluru, Pune, Jakarta, and Singapore.