GamingMonk, an eSports gaming company based out of New Delhi, has raised ₹4 crore (~ US$543,000) in its second round of funding from Japan-based Incubate Fund, Rajan Anandan, VP, Google India & South East Asia, reported Gizbot.

Other investors which participated in this round include Stellaris Ventures, Smile Group, AdvantEdge and Samir Khurana. GamingMonk had earlier raised an undisclosed amount in seed funding from AdvantEdge Partners, an early stage venture capital fund, in July 2017.

The new infusion of funds will help the startup to achieve its vision of providing a smooth, transparent and credible gaming platform for all the players.

Founded in 2014, by Abhay Sharma and Ashwin Haryani, GamingMonk is focused on online and offline tournaments of competitive games across platforms such as Mobile, Console and PC.

GamingMonk was initially started as an e-commerce marketplace for consoles, gaming titles and other accessories, thereafter in August 2017 the startup launched its online eSports Portal and eventually pivoted to become a leading online esports company with a focus on building a community and provide authentic and relevant content to gamers.

Abhay Sharma, Co-Founder of GamingMonk said in a statement, “India is at the cusp of massive online gaming adoption with an exponential increase in players and funding in this sector. We are focussed on building a top-notch gaming experience for the esports enthusiasts and the community, in which players can thrive, improve their skills and become top competitors at an international level."

Ashwin Haryani, the other Co-Founder, said, "We want to focus on not just the enthusiast gamers but also build an ecosystem which brings more casual and semi-pro players on all three platforms - PC, console and mobile gaming. We are seeing a lot of interest from investors and are in discussions with some strategic players both in India and overseas for our next round of funding."

"A big announcement is expected in the coming few months," he said.

The GamingMonk platform currently have 2 verticals - Offline Tournaments & an Online eSports Portal. Offline tournaments are held across India covering 8 cities so far with an expansion plan of covering 16 cities by next year.

The company has organised more than 200 competitive tournaments across the country with 35000 participants. The platform hosts tournaments on games such as PUBG, CS: GO, DOTA 2, FIFA game series, Call of Duty Series, Clash Royale and many more.

The rise of smartphone users and wider consumer trends are contributing to the growth of online gaming trends in India. According to a study by KPMG, Indian online gaming industry will add 190 million gamers and become a US $1 billion opportunity by 2021.

In June this year, tech giant Google had launched a training programme for gaming startups and developers in South-East Asia including India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Pakistan, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam, to successfully build, scale, launch and market the next generation of hit mobile games.

Just today itself, global sports tech fund, ADvantage, has announced that it is looking out for startups in India for investment opportunities.

In August, former Indian cricket skipper MS Dhoni picked up 25% stake in Run Adam, a 360 degree sports Tech-Ecosystem. The platform has been created with a vision to help aspiring sportsperson to hone their talent and help them in their professional journey.

[Top Image - Facebook.com/GamingMonk]
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