Matrix-backed Zupee raises $30M in a series B investment round

~ Zupee is a leading innovator in online skill-based gaming in India
~ The company has seen over 5x increase in its valuation in 6 months
~ Newly raised $30M will be used to enable scaling with portfolio expansion and deepening user reach

August 17th, 2021. New Delhi: Zupee, a leading innovator in India's online skill-based gaming industry, has announced that it has raised $30M at a pre-money valuation of $500M in a series B funding round. This round of funding has been co-led by Silicon Valley-based WestCap Group and Tomales Bay Capital. Existing investors, Matrix Partners India and Orios Venture Partners also participated in the round.

This round comes within 6 months after its series A round at a $100M valuation, which is more than a 5x increase in the company's valuation. With total funds raised now at $49M, Zupee is backed by some of the best in the industry - WestCap Group, Matrix Partners India, Smile Group and Orios Venture Partners. The company has an existing user base of over 10 million users. This new round of funding will be used to enable scaling efforts through expanded product portfolio, deepening market reach and hiring global talent.

Founded in 2018 by graduates of India's leading institution IIT Kanpur, Dilsher Singh and Siddhant Saurabh, and incubated with funding from Smile Group, Zupee innovates by re-engineering time-tested games and enabling them to enhance skill, joy and hope. The company's portfolio has innovative gaming formats of multiple popular board games. The flagship gaming app hosts live trivia quiz tournaments and has seen over 250 million gameplays.

Dilsher Singh, Founder and CEO, Zupee said, "Games inherently celebrate people's journey and nurture self-expression. That's what I am committed to building with Zupee, an organization that enables people anywhere in the world to enhance their intrinsic happiness through games. We innovate to ensure our games provide an intersection between skill and entertainment, enabling our users to earn while they play. We thank our investors for believing in our purpose and enabling us to progress on our journey to transform it into reality. Our journey has just begun; 10 million happy users in India, billions more globally we want to touch through our innovative games."

"WestCap remains a key strategic investor and operating advisor to Zupee and we are increasing our interest again as part of this most recent funding round', commented Laurence A. Tosi, Founder and Managing Partner of WestCap and early investor in Zupee. "Dilsher and his world class team have innovated some of the most compelling and widely used mobile games of skill in India. The enduring appeal of the Zupee games brings engagement, enjoyment and empowerment to the widest audience of any gaming platform in the market. This funding will enable the Zupee team to invest further in innovation, expand its suite of games and aggressively pursue international expansion. Zupee has exponentially accelerated its growth over the last 12 months, making them one of the largest and fastest growing game companies globally.'

"Zupee's tech platform is disrupting the casual social gaming industry & has fast become the market leader in India in its space. Zupee's technology & unique data sets allows them to successfully launch time tested social games at speed. The Smile team continues to support Dilsher & the leadership team at Zupee in their ambition to become the global leader in casual social gaming.' added Harish Bahl, Founder & Chairman, Smile Group.

"Zupee's innovative gaming platform enables it to re-imagine time-tested & culturally-relevant games for mass adoption. This has allowed them to scale rapidly with compelling unit-economics. Dilsher has put together a strong leadership team and we are excited to continue backing the company as it looks to become the leading skill-based casual-gaming platform' commented Tarun Davda, Managing Director, Matrix India.

According to industry reports, the global online gaming industry is estimated to grow from $98 billion in 2020 to $272 billion in 2030. In 2020, the industry saw over 53 billion mobile gaming downloads worldwide, of which 17% came from India. By the end of this year itself, there will be 2.9 billion players worldwide.

About Zupee:
Zupee is an online skill-based gaming platform startup based in India that is focused on innovating and creating games that engage, entertain and empower users. More information about the company and its founder is available at www.zupee.global

About Matrix Partners India:
Matrix Partners India is an investment firm with approximately $1 billion under management. Founded in 2006, the firm invests in companies targeting the Indian consumer and enterprise market at the seed, early, and early growth stages. Matrix India has invested in several market-leading companies such as Ola (mobility), Dailyhunt (mobile local language platform), Razorpay (payments), OfBusiness (credit led B2B marketplace), Five Star Business Finance (SME lending), Ola Electric (electric vehicles), Stanza Living (tech-enabled student housing platform), OneCard (mobile-first credit card), Country Delight (D2C dairy & fresh foods brand), DealShare (social commerce platform), Jupiter (consumer Neobank), Mswipe (mobile POS), and Zupee (leading skill-based gaming app) among others. Matrix India has advisory offices in Bangalore, Delhi, and Mumbai. Matrix Partners has a global network of funds investing in the US, China, and India, with approximately $5 billion under management. Further information is available at www.matrixpartners.in. To know more about our investment philosophy & ideologies, check out the #MatrixMoments podcast series.