Fantasy Akhada Raises $11 Mn Led By Florintree

Existing investors Mukul Agrawal (Param Capital) and Varalakshmi Enterprises (the family office of the GMR group) also took part in the round. The fundraise valued SSSG at $135 million, a senior company executive said. Mint was the report on the fundraising plans on 5 January.

Led by former Blackstone India head Mathew Cyriac, Florintree Advisors is a growth-stage private equity firm that invests in technology-backed firms.

Founded in 2020 by Amit Purohit, Amit Bhardwaj, Ankit Upreti, Pratik Gosar, Sumit Jha and Sahil Ahuja, SSSG has so far raised over $20 million in equity funding.

Fantasy Akhada helps users make virtual teams of real professional sports players. Apart from cricket, the platform offers users fantasy gaming experience in other sports such as football and kabaddi.

Fantasy Akhada competes with peers such as Dream11, MPL, Halaplay, Crickplay and Zapak.

The company plans to use the fresh capital to launch a new brand that focuses on sports streaming, content and analytics. It will also use the funds to build technology and for business expansion.

“In January 2023, we achieved operational profitability for the first time and demonstrated a clear path to company-level profitability. The fact that we were able to achieve a big milestone in that journey in January has given us a lot of confidence that we can deliver more brands that will enhance the sporting culture in India. This fundraise will help us achieve the current business plan," said Purohit, who is also group chief executive at SSSG. According to Purohit, the company is expected to end this fiscal with a Contest Entry Amount (CEA) of more than of ₹600 crore, which will mark a sharp rise from FY22. He didn’t disclose last year’s figure. CEA is defined as the total gameplay of all users on a platform in a particular period.

“There is a digital revolution that we are witnessing in India with one billion smartphones in the hands of people. Technology would be the key driver in making India, a truly multi-sport nation," said Cyriac of Florintree. “The company has a clear vision to expand beyond gaming and become a force to reckon within the sports tech space."

Fantasy Akhada is banking heavily on the rise of domestic sporting avenues and tournaments.

According to a report by Market Decipher, a market research firm, India has the world’s biggest fantasy sports market with over 130 million users and was valued at ₹34,600 crore in 2021, with an expected annual growth of 32% between 2022 and 2032.

The number of fantasy sports participants in India has jumped eightfold in the past decade, while the number of fantasy sports users has swelled nearly 26 times.

India offers a diverse selection of sports entertainment, from fantasy cricket to fantasy kabaddi. Gross income earned by the fantasy sports sector in FY20 was ₹2,470 crore, while the market size was ₹920 crore in 2019. This suggests that during the covid-19 lockdown, the size increased threefold, according to Market Decipher.