Mobile Premier League raises fresh capital from Singapore-based parent

Bengaluru headquartered mobile fantasy esports platform Mobile Premier League (MPL) has raised Rs 64.93 crore ($8.7 million at current exchange rates) from its Singapore-based parent entity M-League, according to filings made with the Registrar of Companies.

This is the third tranche of capital infusion from the parent entity in 2020 in its Indian subsidiary Galactus Funware Technology -- it has received a total of Rs 129.04 crore in the period.

The development was first reported by Entrackr.

MPL last raised capital in a $35.5 million Series A funding round from Sequoia India, Times Internet and GoVentures, the venture capital arm of Indonesian ride hailing app GoJek, in April 2019. Other investors in the round included RTP Global, Beenext, Base Growth and Venture Highway.

The Indian entity reported an operational revenue of Rs 2.8 crore for the financial year 2018-19, as its expenditure widened to Rs 89.47 crore with respect to the platform, which is endorsed by Indian cricketer Virat Kohli who came on board in 2019. The company is yet to report its financials for the year ended March 31, 2020.

Incorporated in September 2018 by Sai Srinivas Kiran G and Shubham Malhotra, the platform acquired Pune-based software developer Crevise Technologies in 2019 in a mixed cash and equity deal. The founders had previously launched Creo, maker of the HDMI media streaming device Teewe, which was later acquired by messaging app Hike.

Fantasy esport is a rising sector in India, with companies such as Dream11 -- the first gaming unicorn -- in talks with top technology investors to raise $200 million in a fresh funding round.

However, the sector has come to a standstill, as most major sporting events have been cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Fantasy esports platforms follow a model where individuals can create a virtual team of real players in an ongoing tournament and gain points based on the performance of the players in the offline world. The individuals pay an entry fee, which is pooled into a cash prize that goes to the virtual winning team.

 With the announcement of tentative schedule of cricket tournament Indian Premier League (IPL), the sector is likely to revive soon.