Homegrown esports startup FanClash raises $40 mn to go global
Homegrown esports startup FanClash on Friday said it has raised $40 million in its Series B funding to expand its global footprint.
Founded in mid-2020, FanClash recently expanded to the Philippines and aims to be a global leader in esports.
The Series B funding round was led by Sequoia Capital India, Falcon Edge, Info Edge India and Matic Networks.
"FanClash released its product in India in 2021 and in the Philippines in June 2022 and aims to launch in Vietnam and the US by early 2023", a company spokesperson said in a statement.
The startup earlier raised $10 million in Series A from Sequoia Capital India, Falcon Edge (Alpha Wave Ventures) and Info Edge India.
FanClash started its journey as a fantasy gaming application for all core esports viewers and has evolved into Asia's largest esports fantasy platform.
There are 500 million core esports viewers globally, growing at 20 per cent CAGR (compound annual growth rate), said the startup.
In India, there are 100 million users and are expected to grow threefold by 2025.
FanClash users can create their fantasy teams from every tournament and earn rewards based on the real-life performance of the teams.
The platform enables users to play fantasy on all leading global tournaments across top esports such as FreeFire, PUBG Mobile, COD Mobile, COD PC, Valorant, CS:GO, League of Legends and DOTA 2, etc.
"We aspire to be a household name in the global gaming community. This is possible in esports, unlike traditional sports, because the underlying game titles have a global audience," said Richa Singh, Co-founder of FanClash.
Online gaming has over 300 million users in India and esports has hit an inflection point with over 100 million Indian viewers.
"The online gaming market is also monetising well and is on track to surpass $5 billion in revenues by 2025," said Rajan Anandan, MD, Sequoia India.
"Going after this opportunity, FanClash is building an exciting new destination for esports fans with an incredible product that is loved by its users," he added.
According to Anirudh Singh, MD, Alpha Wave Global, FanClash has also shown its execution strength across all international markets, while maintaining high capital efficiency.