Building Bharat’s TikTok for Games, SimpleViralGames Raises Rs 4 Cr in Pre-Seed Funding

• SimpleViralGames, aka SVG, has raised Rs 4 Cr from WEH Ventures, Eximius Ventures, PointOne Capital, Force Ventures. WEH led the round.
• A few prominent angels including Ankit Agrawal (Founder & CEO of InsuranceDekho), Prashant Sachan (Founder & CEO of AppsForBharat) also participated in the round. 
• The raised funds will be used by SVG to build Bharat’s TikTok for Games via their app named ‘TimePass’ which shall host 100s of fun hyper-casual games on the platform which can be played with a tap of a button without any additional download for each game.

Simple Viral Games aka SVG, a hyper-casual mobile gaming platform, today announced raising Rs 4 Cr (500,000 USD) in a pre-seed round led by WEH Ventures. The round also saw participation from Eximius Ventures, PointOne Capital, Force Ventures & a few angels including Ankit Agrawal (Founder & CEO of InsuranceDekho), Prashant Sachan (Founder & CEO of AppsForBharat).

Founded in December 2022 by Rahul KR & Sourav Badami, SVG is focused on giving the best mobile gaming experience to Bharat. This hyper-casual gaming platform shall serve users from all age groups & make playing fun games a part of everyone’s daily routine. On their app named TimePass, users can discover & play lots of games without any additional download for each game. Simply swipe up to see a new game reel!

(L-R) - Sourav Badami and Rahul K R

Rahul K R is an IIT Madras Alumnus and ex- Lead Product Manager at Khatabook & Apna. He was first Product Manager at Khatabook. While, Sourav Badami is an ex- Engineering Manager at Gojek. 

Speaking of the platform, the founders said “We are making Bharat discover and play the world's best, most simple, fun and innovative games! Imagine a video game arcade, which has 1000s of games to choose from & you can start playing with a single tap, all in one single app.”

Currently, the app has over 20 games & is adding new games every week. The company has started working with game developers & studios as well to on-board their games onto the TimePass app.

“Our goal is to become a TikTok like platform for hyper-casual/casual games & empower game developers and studios to publish their instant games on our platform & get distribution right away & earn with the revenue share. In next 3-5 years we wish to have over 100M monthly active gamers on out platform. Built in India, Built for Bharat” said the founders.

Speaking on the investment, Rohit Krishna, General Partner, WEH Ventures said “Except gaming, almost all other content categories have platforms that focus on personalized, infinite scrolls. We think Rahul and Sourav have great chemistry and complementary skills to build a ‘TikTok for gaming’ platform for Bharat”

Launched in 2017, WEH Ventures is a sector-agnostic early-stage venture fund with a primary focus on startups solving India-first problems. The fund is very often the first institutional investor in a company and aims to support it through the early years and beyond.  In its six year journey, the fund has already backed several category-leading companies such as smallcase, Jar, Masterchow, Appsforbharat and Pratilipi which have been subsequently backed by top tier institutional investors.

Eximius Ventures Announces the Most Happening Gaming Event in India: The Gaming Lounge 2021

• 3 keynote sessions featuring Nitish Mittersain of Nazara, Rajan Navani of JetSynthesys and Eitan Reisel of VGames.
• 6 panel sessions on trending topics in gaming including cryptos, NFTs and esports
• 30+ speakers from 4+ countries
• Battleground Mobile India (BGMI) exhibition match for a total prize pool of Rs. 4 lakhs
• PitchFest featuring 5 upcoming gaming startups

Eximius Ventures, a micro VC investing in pre-seed-stage startups, will organize 'The Gaming Lounge 2021' on 8th and 9th of December 2021, an international virtual gaming event, featuring three keynote sessions, six panels, a BGMI match, and a Gaming PitchFest for early-stage gaming startups. The six panel sessions will be on trending topics in gaming including cryptos, NFTs and esports. The virtual gaming event will have 30+ speakers from over four countries.

 

Eximius Ventures, The Gaming Lounge 2021 Poster

Speakers from the global gaming community include industry leaders such as Nitish Mittersain (MD & Founder, Nazara Technologies), Rajan Navani (Founder & CEO, JetSynthesys), Malte Barth (Founding Partner, BITKRAFT Ventures), Akshat Rathee (Co-founder, NODWIN Gaming), and Roland Landers (CEO, All India Gaming Federation), among others.

The panels will include discussions on trending topics such as emerging trends in India, NFTs, and esports as well as insightful sessions on Indian gaming laws, how VCs evaluate gaming startups, and more. The Battleground Mobile India "BGMI" match will witness the participation of top esports teams who will compete to claim a prize pool Rs. 4 lakhs. Leading investors including Dream Sports, and JetSynthesys will be participating in the Gaming PitchFest, a pitch competition for early-stage gaming startup.

Pearl Agarwal, Founder & Managing Director, Eximius Ventures, said that "The Indian gaming industry is on the cusp of revolution. Gaming is one of the fastest growing segments in entertainment, second only to OTT platforms in terms of spending. However, many Indians consume games that are developed outside of India. The country needs a strong nexus of gamers, content creators, developers, and investors who promote the development of the Indian gaming market."

She added, "Through 'The Gaming Lounge 2021', we aim to promote new gaming genres and subgenres in India, connect ecosystem players, and encourage gaming enthusiasts to take an active interest in growing the Indian gaming community further."

From $1.8 billion in 2021, Indian gaming is set to expand to a $7 billion market by 2026. On top of growing smartphone and internet users, the increased demand during the pandemic has boosted the segment even more, which currently stands as the fifth largest in the world, with over 800 gaming startups and a 433 million strong gaming user base.

The two-day event will also witness panel participation from thought leaders of Epic Games, MPL, Play Ventures, EWar, and many more. Through the PitchFest, shortlisted startups will receive investor mentoring, and the winner will receive up to $250,000 in funding.

Ecosystem partners for the event include Esports Collective, Marwah Sports, and Skills Reform.

Visit: eximiusvc.com/the-gaming-lounge.

About Eximius Ventures

Eximius Ventures is a micro VC that invests an equity cheque of $150,000 to $300,000. It looks for startups bringing technological innovation, with a primary interest in gaming, fintech, and healthtech, and also gives precedence to female founders. Eximius invests in startups that have a minimum viable product (MVP) and have seen early traction. While it is an early-stage fund, it has reserved capital for follow-on rounds as well. Its team and partners have a cumulative experience of 70+ years in investing and building businesses, and leverage their expertise to help startups realize their potential, supported by a strong network of mentors, industry experts, and thought leaders from the ecosystem. Fund investments include Eka Care and Jar. In addition to that, Founder and Managing Director Pearl Agarwal's personal portfolio includes EWar, BluSmart Mobility, inFeedo, and Trell, among others. As a SEBI registered fund, Eximius ensures that its investments fulfil compliance standards.

  

E-Sports Start-Up EWar Raises Pre-Series A from Inflection Point Ventures

• Undisclosed round raised by EWar
• Pre-Series A round led by IPV 
• JITO Angel Network and Hyderabad Angels also participated in the round 
• Funds raised to be used for enhancing EWar's products and technologies 
• IPV emerges as one of the top 3 Angel Networks in India making 21st investment since March this year 

Delhi/Bangalore, 21st Dec 2020: Bengaluru-headquartered gaming and esports start-up EWar Games has raised Pre-Series A from Inflection Point Ventures, India's largest and most active angel network. JITO Angel Network and Hyderabad Angels, Pearl Agarwal, Founder & Director Eximius Ventures also participated in the round. Ms. Agarwal has participated in her personal capacity.

The funds raised will be utilized to drive further penetration into the Indian esports segment by introducing several new/innovative technologies and products which will provide a huge boost to the gaming ecosystem. Apart from marketing and growing the franchise and the platform, EWar is also developing a layer over existing esports products to make the segment more competitive and increase external viewership. The product is still in stealth mode but the target is to increase the audience of esports games, by giving them something to engage with.

This is the second round of funding raised by EWar during the current year. The Company had raised an angel round of $200,000 from House of Jindals and Mr. Jeet Banerjee (Founder, Gameplan) in Jan this year. 

Vinay Bansal, Founder & CEO, IPV says, "The trend of people staying indoors far longer these days has started a significant wave towards E-Gaming. EWar being a pioneer and a leading start-up in the Indian gaming and esports scene has been playing a pivotal role in providing numerous opportunities for Indian gamers to play, and shine, doing all this through one single, comprehensive platform. We were impressed by EWar team's technological capabilities and their product-first and customer-first approach.

As of date, the platform has acquired an userbase of 1 Mn users, and over 60K games are being played daily on EWar app. The start-up aims to have 5 Mn users by the end of the next year, and aims to become the go-to destination for all gaming enthusiasts as well as the most popular and most-valued gaming platform in India in the years to come.

Parth Chadha, Founder & CEO, EWar Games says, "In a year raged with Pandemic, we are fortunate to have received two rounds of funding at a time when most VCs are currently going slow on signing cheques. We are on a mission to take esports in India to much bigger and better levels, and help the industry grow equivalent to the remarkable position it holds globally. And to that end, our start-up is leveraging a combination of vernacularity, game streaming, casual gaming, hardcore gaming, game tournaments' hosting as well as our internal in-house game development competency, which are some of the key factors that have led a pool of investors to instate solid faith in us. Going forward, EWar's team remains committed to expanding and optimizing the product, technology and game offerings, while adding immense value for our users."

EWar Games has built a first-of-its-kind vernacular gaming platform in India, which is being used by gamers to play their favourite games, stream, interact, watch (the gaming content streamed by other gamers), earn virtual or real money (while playing), and so on. Apart from a wide variety of both casual and real-money games, EWar is also focusing on the booming esports segment, wherein the start-up has introduced its flagship 'Mahayudh' mega tournament franchise in India (which is hosted three times a year with participation from amateur and pro gamers from all parts of the country). The platform also hosts and streams tournaments of PUBG, Call Of Duty (COD), Freefire and other popular game tournaments with participation from world-renowned players such as Scout, Owais, and Gill.

About EWar

Founded in Feb 2019, EWar Games has built a first-of-its-kind vernacular gaming platform in India, which is being used by gamers to play their favourite games, stream, interact, watch (the gaming content streamed by other gamers), earn virtual or real money (while playing), and so on. Apart from a wide variety of both casual as well as real-money games as their offerings, EWar also a major focus on the booming esports segment.

About Inflection Point Ventures

Inflection Point Ventures is an initiative of accomplished CXOs & Angel Investors who firmly believe that 'Everyone can Grow with Startups'. Started in 2018, IPV has invested more than Rs. 100 crores across 50+ startups. IPV's investors' base, currently at 3000+ is seeing a massive influx of highly accomplished CXOs and HNIs, looking to invest in startups with rational valuation and sustainable business model.