NEW DELHI: Super Six Sports Gaming (SSSG), parent company of daily fantasy sports platform Fantasy Akhada, has raised $11 million in a fresh round of funding.
The round was led by Florintree Advisors (run by Mathew Cyriac, ex-MD of Blackstone India). It also saw participation from existing investors, Mukul Agrawal (Param Capital) and Varalakshmi Enterprises (family office of the GMR Group). This has taken the overall funding raised by the company till date to over $20m.
Launched in 2020, the Gurugram-based startup has seen phenomenal growth over the past three years. Valued at $135m today, Fantasy Akhada’s biggest marketing campaign till date – #KhelTumharaAkhadaHumara feat. Harsha Bhogle & Ali Fazal – was recognized as one of the best marketing campaigns during IPL last year.
The company plans to utilize the funding to strengthen their position as one of the best fantasy sports brands in the country. Apart from this, they plan to launch a new brand that focuses on streaming, content and analytics. Additionally, the company is focused towards building technology products that will drive sports engagement in the country.
Amit Purohit, founder and Group CEO, SSSG, said, “In January 2023, we achieved operational profitability for the first time and demonstrated a clear path to company-level profitability. The fact that we were able to achieve a big milestone in that journey in January has given us a lot of confidence that we can deliver more brands that will enhance the sporting culture in India. This fund raise will help us achieve the current business plan.”
Sumit Kumar Jha, founder and Group COO, SSSG, added “We are excited to onboard a fresh set of investors. Some of our existing investors have also shown their confidence in our vision once again. We are committed towards increasing sports engagement in the country through technology. We believe that sports consumption in India has massive headroom for growth and we will help accelerate the same. The country, I believe, is at the cusp of a sporting revolution.”
“There is a digital revolution that we are witnessing in India with 1 billion smartphones in the hands of people. Technology would be the key driver in making India, a truly multi-sport nation.” said Mathew Cyriac, Florintree Advisors.
He added, “The company has a clear vision to expand beyond gaming and become a force to reckon with in the Sports Tech space.”
N Jayakumar, managing director, Prime Securities (exclusive investment banker for the transaction), said, “We have been working together with SSSG since April 2021. With tremendous growth and a clear path to profitability, the company is on track to being one of the best sports tech companies of the country. With the Women’s Premier League already on and the Indian Premier League fast approaching, the funding sets the perfect platform for SSSG to catapult into the next level of growth.”
