One of the most diverse gaming platforms in India, offering real-money fantasy sports, skills games and eSports, has just wrapped up a Series A funding round that proved to be highly successful. Mobile Premier League (MPL), which is owned by Galactus Funware Technology Private Limited, picked up around $35.5 million in investment funds from companies such as Sequoia Capital India, Indonesia-based Go-Jek’s GoVentures, and Times Internet, which is part of the Times of India Group.
The funds will be used to help the company advance its product base and to support user growth in India. MPL co-founder and CEO Sai Srinivas Kiran G explains, “Our goal is to build India’s largest mobile esports platform which is accessible to all. MPL today provides users access to all formats and types of competitive games. Like with everything else, Competitive Gaming in India will be mobile first and MPL wants to be the platform of choice for the user. In the 7 months since launch, the user love we have received is testimony to that. We are thankful and excited to have investors who share the same bold vision.”
Shailendra Singh, Managing Director of Sequoia Capital (India) Singapore, stated, “Sequoia India is very happy to back Sai and Shubh a second time, and believe solidly in their vision of creating the largest esports platform for India and other emerging markets. We’re thrilled with the early progress at MPL. With their industry leading growth and engagement metrics, MPL has the potential to become a major mobile internet company in India.”
Other entities stepped up to participate in the funding round, as well. Among these were RTP Global, Base Growth, Venture Highway, BeeNext and more.
MPL was founded last year by Sai Srinivas Kiran Garimella and Shubham Malhotra. The site offers real-money contests and tournaments of varying skill levels, including in games such as fruit chip, space breaker, Sudoku, monster truck, virtual cricket and more. The mobile app has reportedly been downloaded more than 25 million times and the company recently inked a deal to be sponsored by Indian cricket star Virat Kohli.
The VP of Corporate Development for Times Internet, Miten Sampat, says of the company’s investment, “MPL has captured the imagination of gamers on smartphones like no other platform out there. Skill based competitive casual games are highly engaging social experiences, and we believe MPL will be a leader in this category globally.”
