- The funding round was led by Kalaari Capital while also witnessing participation from all of its existing investors namely Lumikai Fund, Leo Capital and PlayCo.
- With the capital raised, the company plans to invest it in scaling its existing ‘hypersocial’ game offerings, supporting upcoming projects while also devoting a sum towards innovation in the segment
Bombay Play, a leader in hypersocial gaming, recently raised $7Mn in its Series-A funding round. Led by Kalaari Capital, the round witnessed participation from existing investors – Lumikai Fund, Leo Capital and PlayCo. while also getting a vote of confidence from new investors like Winzo, AdvantEdge VC, AMEA Ventures amongst others.
Bombay Play is a game publisher pioneering the hypersocial gaming genre and has developed popular games like Dice Merge Puzzle, Card Party, and Daily Word Puzzle that have over 40 Million players worldwide.
Commenting on the amount raised, Oliver Jones , CEO, Bombay Play shared, “Since the inception of Bombay Play, our aim has been to create games that you can play with your friends seamlessly. Our team’s ambition is to disrupt the current casual games market with hypersocial game designs by leveraging our cross platform distribution channels. We are delighted to have found the confidence of investors in our journey to build a gaming innovation factory in India. With the amount raised, we will scale up existing offerings while investing in cutting-edge technologies to elevate the social experience of casual gamers worldwide .”
The company has now raised over $9.5 million in capital, and the latest financing more than quadruples the valuation of its Pre-Series A round in 2020.
Salone Sehgal, General Partner, Lumikai, India’s first gaming and interactive media fund, and also one of Bombay Play’s early investors, said, “At Lumikai, we have witnessed the tremendous evolution of Bombay Play as a studio from seed to scale. Oliver and Abhas, as veteran gaming entrepreneurs, bring extensive domain expertise, strong user insights, data driven development and a world class team towards building hit games from India. This “innovation mindset” has enabled them to develop successful titles like Dice Merge, Card Party, Daily Word Puzzle which appeal to millions of players across the world. We are elated to continue being a support and mentor to Bombay Play’s continued growth and commitment to introduce shared social experiences. ”
Vani Kola, Managing Director, Kalaari Capital, who led this round, said, “We were highly impressed with what Oliver and Abhas have been able to achieve and they are definitely one of the most experienced gaming entrepreneurs in the country today. We are very excited about how they are disrupting the casual gaming industry with their hypersocial model and are delighted to partner with them in this journey.”
Founded in 2018 by Oliver Jones and Abhas Saroha, Bombay Play is currently headquartered in Bangalore and has been growing 3X Y-O-Y since the beginning of its operations. Currently employing 50 people, the company is planning to double its headcount by the end of FY 2022.