Krafton, the Battlegrounds Mobile India developer has invested $9 million (roughly Rs 6,68,115,000) in Loco, India’s leading homegrown game streaming platform. The seed round was also led by Lumikai, India’s first gaming, and interactive media fund. The seed funding witnessed participation by Hashed, Hiro Capital, North Base Media, Axilor Ventures, and 3one4 Capital as well.
The new investment is expected to boost the streaming platform’s efforts across ‘game streaming technology and gaming content.’ Notably, following the fundraise, Loco will be spun off as a separate entity from its parent, Pocket Aces. For the uninitiated, Pocket Aces is India’s largest digital entertainment company. Up ahead, Pocket Aces founders Anirudh Pandita and Ashwin Suresh will lead Loco, while co-founder Aditi Shrivastava will continue to lead Pocket Aces.
“Krafton’s second investment in India is to back India’s own game streaming platform – Loco,” Anuj Tandon, Krafton’s Head of Investments tweeted. “It’s great to back @anipandita & @ashwinsuresh as Lead investors in their Seed round as they build this rocket ship,” he said.
While live streaming of titles was popularised by Amazon’s Twitch in the US, Loco became a pioneer in the home turf for live game streaming and esports sector in India. The startup being a home to popular streamers Sc0ut, Jonathan, Mavi, Thug, Ghatak, Sumit, GTX Preet, Snax, Xyaa, GamingworldVerified has built a base among gamers in the country by hosting popular games across various genres like Clash of Clans, Valorant, Free Fire, GTA, etc.
“Loco is at the forefront of the game streaming revolution in India. Our platform empowers novice gamers to become household names and has built the foundation for the rise of a new creator economy in India. We are just getting started on our mission to build the home of Indian gaming and we will work relentlessly to make India a global gaming superpower. With this investment, we have been joined on our mission by the pioneers of the global gaming industry. This will enable us to create value for users in ways that no other game streaming platform in India can,” Anirudh Pandita and Ashwin Suresh, Founders of Loco said.
While the immediate outcome of the funding is unlikely, Krafton’s previous investment with Nodwin Gaming, an Indian esports company indicates that the developer might host an esports event perhaps for the new BR title Battlegrounds Mobile India.
source https://www.bgr.in/gaming/pubg-mobile-developer-krafton-invests-9-million-in-indias-video-game-streaming-startup-loco-969600/
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