India's Zupee closes Series B at $102m
Zupee, an Indian skill-based gaming platform, has raised a USD 72m Series B extension, taking the overall round to USD 102m. The company is now valued at USD 600m.
Participants include US growth equity investors Westcap Group and Tomales Bay Capital, as well as local players Nepean Capital, AJ Capital, Matrix Partners India, and Orios Venture Partners.
The USD 30m first tranche, announced in August, featured Westcap, Tomales, Matrix, and Orios. The pre-money valuation was around USD 500m.
Zupee received USD 1m in seed funding from Smile Group in 2019 – a year after its founding – and then an USD 8m Series A in April 2020 from Matrix, Orios, Westcap, Smile, and Falcon Edge Capital, AVCJ Research’s records show. Matrix and Westcap made a follow-on commitment of approximately USD 10m in early 2021. At that time, the company was valued at USD 100m.
Concurrent with the Series B extension, Zupee announced a strategic partnership with Jio Platforms, a Reliance Industries holding company. Jio Platforms is building a portfolio of consumer-facing digital businesses to offer alongside is mobile, broadband, and cable services. Jio users will get access to Zupee’s games and other products it develops.
Zupee said the Jio tie-up delivers “the biggest reach of all gaming companies in India, transforming it from a fast-growing start-up to a firm contender for the biggest gaming studio in India.”
The company claims to have helped more than 10m people improve their general knowledge, critical thinking, and competitive skills through its games. It specialises in scientifically designed mental exercises and applications, and the gamification of day-to-day activities. Many of these offerings are time-tested, popular games that are reengineered for mobile devices and made more entertaining.
Zupee estimates that India’s online gaming industry is expanding at 40% a year and will be worth USD 14bn by 2025. The company is already profitable on a pre-tax basis.
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