Indian gaming and entertainment platform, WinZO has raised $65 Mn in a Series C funding round, led by California-based Griffin Gaming Partners, taking the total tally of capital raised by the Company to $90 Mn.
Griffin is making its first ever investment in India in WinZO. This financing follows only eight months after the company raised its Series B from returning investors Makers Fund, Courtside Ventures, and Steve Pagliuca, co-chairman of Bain Capital. Phil Sanderson, cofounder of Griffin Gaming Partners, will join WinZO’s board of directors.
Founded by Paavan Nanda and Saumya Singh in early 2018, the company partners with third party developers to host games on their android app, where users can enjoy personalised multiplayer gameplay experiences. The platform is available in 12 languages such as English, Hindi, Gujarati, Marathi, Bengali, and Bhojpuri, with over 50 Mn registered users.
The company claims that its platform facilitates over 2.5 Bn micro-transactions per month across a portfolio of over 70 games and that it has grown its revenue tenfold in the last 12 months.
WinZO is focused on building an enthusiastic community of gamers and gaming influencers in Tier 2 – 5 cities in India. The company envisions a future where the WinZO platform can deliver a culturally relevant and enjoyable experience in the Indian gaming ecosystem, monetised through a unique micro-transaction model.
“The company is led by best-in-class management with an extraordinary product vision. We saw in WinZO’s games incredible retention and monetisation metrics we believe set the company up for continued explosive growth and are proud to support the team on the journey,” commented Nick Tuosto, cofounder of Griffin Gaming Partners and managing director and head of gaming at LionTree.
Gaming used to be a steady trend in the West, however, the gaming fever has caught on in India as well with the rise of a serious following among the youth. In fact, gaming is today considered one of the most lucrative business sectors in India.
According to a report by KPMG, the gaming industry is likely to see robust growth from INR 43.8 Bn presently to INR 118.8 Bn by 2023, a growth rate of 22.1%.
A major part of the success of the Indian gaming industry is due to the mobile gaming sector. As per Inc42 Plus analysis, India stands in the sixth position in the global mobile gaming market with market size of $1.2 Bn in 2020. With the second-largest smartphone user base, and rising internet penetration due to cheap data rates, the Indian gaming industry is expected to cross $1.6 Bn by 2025. Another significant reason behind the potential growth of the gaming sector in the future is the establishment of 5G in the country.
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