1. Funding Boom for India’s Gaming Industry
Venture Capital Funds have invested $438 Million in Indian Gaming Startups since April’20, topping the combined funding of last 5 years (mint). However, Dream11 alone accounted for $225 Million of venture funding.
2. India’s E-sports boom is drawing big corporates
Tech Mahindra announced in Feb’21 that it will organize a global chess league this year. This move makes Tech Mahindra the 3rd Indian big corporate to enter eSports after Airtel and Reliance Jio (mint).
3. Indian gaming industry is witnessing a hiring spree
Job postings and job searches were up by 13% and 15% respectively in Jan’21 vis-à-vis Jan’20 (The Indian Express). Speaking of jobs, in Feb’21, GOI announced the formation of a Centre of Excellence in gaming and related areas in collaboration with IIT Bombay. Courses will begin from this year itself. This move is likely to create a pool of talent to further fuel the growth of India’s gaming industry (IGN India).
4. Strength in Numbers:
Over 50% of India’s population is below 25 years of age (WEF).
India is the 2nd largest internet consumer with over 560 million internet users (WEF).
In 2020, India rose to the number 1 spot in mobile game downloads clocking 7.3 billion installs (WEF).
This article is a part of the February'21 edition of our Startup Newsletter. Here's the complete publication:
