New Delhi-based esports gaming startup GamingMonk has raised ₹4 crore in its second funding round from Google‘s Rajan Anandan and Japan-based seed investment firm Incubate Fund.
Other investors that participated in the round include Stellaris Venture Partners, AdvantEdge Partners, Smile Group, and Samir Khurana.
The fresh funds will enable the gaming startup to help provide a smooth, transparent and credible gaming platform for all the players.
GamingMonk was founded by two Amity University graduates Abhay Sharma and Ashwin Haryani in November 2014. It started as an e-commerce marketplace for consoles, gaming titles and other accessories and now it has become one of the leading esports gaming platforms.
The startup organises both online and offline esports tournaments. It conducts offline tournaments across 8 cities in India and plans to expand to 16, by the end of next year.
GamingMonk has organised more than 200 competitive tournaments across the country with 35,000 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.
Ashwin Haryani, Co-Founder of GamingMonk, 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,”
Hinting at further funding, he added, “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.”
Other players competing with GamingMonk in the online gaming segment include Nazara Technologies and Rooter, among others.
According to a Frost & Sullivan report, the Indian gaming industry is expected to touch $1.1 billion by 2021, from $338 million in 2017. With the rising mobile and internet penetration, the mobile gaming industry is expected to pick up in the coming years.
In August 2018, Nazara Technologies picked up stake in VR gaming startup InstaSportz, to expand presence in offline gaming across tier 1 and tier 2 cities in India.
Earlier this year in January, Nazara acquired a majority stake in NODWIN gaming.