With Indian startups flourishing in every field, venture capitalists are eyeing new age sectors as much as traditional sectors. There has been a swell of investments in several emerging industries and the gaming sector has not been far from reach as well. With the global boom in gaming from the pandemic, VCs have realized its potential in India where the increase in smartphones has opened up access to a population that is interested in exploring all that is possible with their devices and have been investing in startups and companies solely dedicated to gaming.
Here are 5 venture capital firms that have been betting big on the gaming industry in India:
Lumikai
Lumikai is India’s first dedicated VC that focuses on investing in the gaming and interactive media industry. They have so far made 10 investments. They have invested in companies such as Eloelo, All-Star Games, Loco, Bombay Play, Crater Club, and Sirah Studio along with CloudFeather Games being their latest portfolio company. The Lumikai team brings decades of sector-specific strategic experience and knowledge for their entrepreneurs to thrive.
Kalaari Capital
Kalaari Capital is an early-stage, tech-focused, venture capital firm which has invested in several Seed and Series A startups across various sectors. The gaming sector is one of their heavily invested sectors, wherein, they’ve invested in numerous leading gaming startups such as Atirath, Bombay Play, Creative Galileo, All-Star Games, Dream11, and Winzo. Kalaari has invested in gaming startups targeted at people of all age groups and ranging from fun and boredom activities to learn-while-play and stimulating live-action games.
Eximius Ventures
Eximius Ventures is the latest talk of VC-town. Founded in the year 2020, this woman-led VC firm has been investing in the young talent of the country. So far, they have invested in several sectors such as healthtech, fintech, media and entertainment as well as gaming. The gaming industry is one of their major focuses, they have invested in Esports XO, an online gaming events management software. In the Indian ecosystem, they participate actively in Web3 and gaming events and have an annual fest dedicated solely to gaming. As ecosystem enablers, they also operate The Gaming Lounge, a first-of-its-kind syndicate focused entirely on gaming firms. Their most recent investment has been in STAN, an Esports fan interaction platform in the web3 domain.
AET Fund
AET Fund, an entertainment-focused VC firm believes in investing in companies that deliver joy and emotional experiences. After investing in global gaming companies such as GameClub, Bunch, and Ghost Commander, AET Fund is now betting big in the Indian gaming industry, starting with the Pune-based gaming studio- Super Gaming.
Accel India
They are colloquially known and are one of the biggest backers of startups in India. They have participated in more than 350 funding rounds in the Indian startup ecosystem out of which 6 are from gaming sector including Sky mavis, sorare, Discord, Rovio, Supercell, and Razer. In recent months, they have launched their seventh fund, the Accel India VII, worth $650 Million. The VC firm plans to invest with a focus on India’s early-stage startups including the gaming sector.
