Renjith Raj

The Next Unicorns: Which Indian and Southeast Asian Gaming Startups Are Poised to Dominate the Global Stage? The gaming industry in India and Southeast Asia is booming. With a massive mobile-first audience these regions are becoming hotspots for gaming unicorns. Millions of new players are entering the ecosystem, and startups are ready to dominate the global stage. -> Mobile-First Growth India and Southeast Asia are mobile-first markets. According to Newzoo, Southeast Asia’s mobile gaming revenue hit $3 billion in 2022, while India's reached $1.5 billion, projected to grow to $5 billion by 2025. India has over 510 million mobile gamers, while Southeast Asia is expected to hit 250 million by 2025. -- Localized Content Startups succeed by offering culturally relevant content that global giants can’t match. JetSynthesys – India JetSynthesys is an Indian gaming and digital entertainment startup that has been quietly making waves with its localized content, especially in the fields of cricket games and celebrity-driven content. With investments from cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar, JetSynthesys has developed games like Sachin Saga Cricket Champions, which has resonated deeply with Indian audiences. VNG Corporation – Vietnam VNG Corporation, with its game ZingPlay, taps into Vietnamese folklore and is valued at over $1 billion, making it a top gaming company in Southeast Asia. PlayShifu – India PlayShifu combines toys with augmented reality (AR) games. Having raised over $30 million, it’s set to become a unicorn by blending gaming and education. -- Esports: A Major Growth Driver Esports is fueling growth in these regions. India’s esports viewership is projected to reach 85 million by 2025, while Southeast Asia’s esports industry is already worth billions. Nodwin Gaming – India NODWIN Gaming raised $22.5 million and plays a big role in India’s esports scene. EVOS Esports – Southeast Asia Based in Indonesia, EVOS Esports has raised over $16 million and leads across several countries. -- Blockchain and Play-to-Earn Models Blockchain and play-to-earn (P2E) models are reshaping the industry. Yield Guild Games (YGG) – Philippines YGG raised $12.5 million and leads in blockchain gaming in Southeast Asia, particularly in the Philippines. -- Unicorn Potential Several factors are driving unicorn growth User Base- Millions of mobile-first users offer scalability. Localization: Local content increases engagement. Streaming- Streaming platforms like YouTube Gaming and Twitch provide new revenue streams. Play-to-Earn- P2E games offer real-world value, especially in emerging markets. The global stage is watching, and the next wave of unicorns will emerge from the East—reshaping the future of gaming and driving unprecedented innovation. To read the full article go to my Substack - https://shorturl.at/y04j6

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Indian Startup Funding Roundup | August 5 - August 8 We compile a Weekly Startups Funding News Report summarizing all the startups that secured funding during the week. FirstCry.com (BrainBees Solutions Ltd.), ShareChat, Unicommerce , Agrizy, Scimplify, Country Delight, kindlife.in, ShopDeck (Previously NuShop), Punch, Metadome.ai #weeklyroundup #fundraising #vcfunding #weeklyfunding #weeklynews #startupfunding #fundingalert #investments #latestupdate

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Here is a good resource for funding.

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Bengaluru-based ecommerce startup POP has raised $2.4 million in seed funding led by IndiaQuotient, with participation from angel investors. This funding will accelerate POP's rollout of Unified Payments Interface (UPI) services via the POPclub app, which has received approval from the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) as a Third-Party Application Provider (TPAP). Developed with YES BANK and JUSPAY, the POPclub app allows users to earn POPcoins, a unique shopping currency, with 2% value back on every transaction. Founder Bhargav Errangi aims to make POP the primary platform for payments and shopping among Gen Z and millennials. Since its launch in May 2023, POP has partnered with over 200 brands, including mCaffeine, Simple Skin Care, Adil Qadri, Anveshan, Two Brothers Organic Farms® and epigamia, and engaged over four million customers. Madhukar Sinha from India Quotient highlighted POP's potential to improve customer acquisition and retention for consumer brands. #POPStartup #Ecommerce #UPI #SeedFunding #IndiaQuotient #Fintech #POPclub #DigitalPayments #CustomerEngagement #StartupGrowth #startup77

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I love it: Fintech Farm, a F1V portfolio company, has raised $32M and plans to launch in India. This startup proves that, after success in Ukraine, local founders can build hits anywhere. And do it crazy fast. In Ukraine, the startup's co-founder Dmytro Dubilet helped start Monobank in 2017. Now, 8.3 million people use it. But it isn't just about users. By being so good, Monobank forced other local banks to get better. To compete, they became more user-friendly, faster, and truly digital. One company has changed the way the whole industry works in Ukraine. Today, Dmytro Dubilet and his partners, Nick Bezkrovnyy and Alexander Vityaz are building digital banks all around – in Azerbaijan, Vietnam, and now India. Give these guys time, and soon enough, everyone around the world will know about Fintech Farm.

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We just deployed our campaign factory across multiple EVM chains!! 💥 Let's break this down 🧠 "Campaign Factory" ↳ Web3 businesses use our campaign factory to deploy their own incentive campaigns as smart contracts, which reward users and affiliates in real time based on custom parameters (incentive amount, trigger event, etc). "Multiple EVM Chains" ↳ EVM stands for Ethereum Virtual Machine - several blockchains are built on top of Ethereum's base infrastructure. Our tech is EVM-compatible, meaning it can support projects building across these blockchains. ↳ As a B2B SaaS platform, being multi-chain is crucial for our growth. The more chains we can support, the more projects we can support. We'll be launching v2 with six EVM chains! We're also bullish on many new chains and will be adding them ASAP! You can expect to see client campaigns in action over the coming weeks! 👀 Building something cool in web3? Get started for free 🔥 DMs open - LFG! ------- I write about entrepreneurship, web3, and MarTech Follow for raw posts on my journey building Affi Network 🐝  $AFFI is a volatile crypto and my posts are not financial advice

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𝗜𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗮 𝗵𝗮𝘀 𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗿𝗴𝗲𝗱 𝗮𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗿𝗱-𝗹𝗮𝗿𝗴𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗳𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗰𝗵 𝗳𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗵𝘂𝗯 𝗴𝗹𝗼𝗯𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆, with investments of $2.7 billion in the January-June period. This significant surge in investments is driven by the growth of digital payments, lending, and insurance, with Indian fintech startups receiving investments from global investors, including Tiger Global, Sequoia Capital, and Accel Partners. The top two countries in fintech funding are the #US and the #UK. The potential for further growth in India's fintech sector, driven by increasing adoption of digital technologies and government initiatives, such as the India Stack and the National Digital Health Mission. 💻  This is a remarkable achievement for India's fintech ecosystem, showcasing the country's potential to become a global fintech hub. The growth of digital payments and lending platforms has been instrumental in driving financial inclusion, and this investment momentum is expected to continue. However, it's essential for Indian fintech startups to focus on innovation, scalability, and regulatory compliance to maintain this growth trajectory. 🤔 What do you think? Share your thoughts on the future of fintech in India! #fintech #uk #us #funding #india #chatbot #banking #IndiaRanks3rd #DigitalEconomy https://lnkd.in/dsiVSTGw

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We're thrilled to announce the closing of our $1.5M seed funding round led by Ashish Kacholia (Lucky Investments), Anirban Lahiri (Indian pro-golfer), Aaradhana Jhunjhunwala (Dhunseri Tea & Industries), Aman Poddar, Adithya Mathews, S. Chikkarangappa (Indian pro-golfer), Apurva Ramesh Damani, Mammen Kurien, Sandeep Telang, Vanshay Goenka and Siddhi M. Each investor brings a unique perspective and a deep commitment to creating social and environmental impact. We're inspired by their willingness not just to invest financially, but to co-create the next phase of our journey with us. We will use this round of funding to scale our technologies across India, while building decentralised networks of people and machines that will allow our growing cities to better manage waste locally and efficiently. This model will reduce overall emissions from waste management by over 90% compared with the current scenario. https://lnkd.in/gv2GzDPY Read more about our work here: https://lnkd.in/gCxVw7rY Visit: https://neosan.in/ Dhwaj Bagrecha Alistair D'rozario Faisal Ansari Nitin Padmanabhan Navrun Jacob

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India’s Oyo, once valued at $10 billion, is finalizing new funding at a $2.5 billion valuation. This marks a steep decline from its $10 billion valuation in 2019. The startup, which has raised over $3 billion from backers like SoftBank, Peak XV Ventures, Lightspeed, Airbnb, and Microsoft, has struggled to attract institutional investors. In recent months, it has aggressively pitched to high-net-worth individuals after withdrawing its IPO application twice in the past four years. Once a red-hot Indian startup active in markets including the U.S. and Europe, Oyo has now scaled back its international presence. #venture #downround https://lnkd.in/gE2GjYnM

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Indian SaaS Startup Funding Sees 33% YoY Spike In H1 2024 Funding Decline for SaaS: Indian SaaS funding plunged 70% YoY to $1.56B in 2023, though H1 2024 saw a slight recovery with $915M raised. Unicorns Amid Limited Mega Deals: SaaS produced 3 of India’s 6 unicorns in 2024, but mega-deals ($100M+) remain rare, with only two recorded in H1 2024. Valuation Corrections: High valuations are being reevaluated due to cautious investor sentiment, with a focus on profitability and sustainable growth over unicorn status. M&As Decline: SaaS M&A deals dropped sharply to 37 in H1 2024, a major decrease from 124 in 2023 and 240 in 2022, indicating lower consolidation interest. Horizontal SaaS Dominance & AI Uptick: Horizontal SaaS captured 73% of total funding in H1 2024, with vertical SaaS leveraging AI to unlock growth in areas like HR, finance, and sales. Read More: https://lnkd.in/gu8nRBgC

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🚀 Scaling your start-up after hitting that $5M+ funding milestone? You’re in an exciting phase—but also one filled with new operational challenges. Internal processes and systems that once worked smoothly can start to feel like bottlenecks as your business grows. Many founders wrestle with the decision: Should you build IT and system management in-house, or partner with external experts to ensure smooth scalability? If you're a start-up founder facing this challenge, take a moment to read the full story. It could be the key to unlocking your next phase of growth.👇 #Startup #InternalProcesses #ProcessAutomation

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#WhatsApp Launches Authentication Code Service for #Businesses in #India. #WhatsApp now allows businesses in #India to send authentication and login codes through its API, starting from July 1. This functionality was first introduced by #Meta for merchants in other regions last year and expanded to #Malaysia in June before reaching #India. Additionally, the company has begun applying an international authentication rate for cross-border users' activities, such as sending login codes. A #Meta spokesperson told #TechCrunch, "We want to give people and businesses the ability to get more things done right on WhatsApp — and that includes one-time passwords so people can get a login code and quickly sign in." Activating India as a market is significant, given that telecom networks in the country send over 1 billion one-time passwords (OTPs) daily. With over 500 million users, #India is #WhatsApp's largest market, presenting a substantial opportunity for the platform to handle a share of these authentication messages and generate revenue. WhatsApp has been restructuring its messaging fees for businesses, and authentication messages offer a new revenue stream while encouraging users to engage more with the app. Recently, WhatsApp also introduced #AIpowered features for designing ads and assisting merchants with customer support on the WhatsApp Business app. #WhatsApp #Provelopers #BusinessMessaging #India #Authentication #TechNews

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Jiffy Daily... your go-to newsletter for daily news bytes from the World of Startups! Pneucons Vanta Devnagri AI Faad Network CRED Acko OneCare Gupshup Captain Fresh Yubi MediaMint Sequoia Capital Inflection Point Ventures #startupnews #startuphiring #saas #startupnews #funding #startupfunding #dailynews #newsinajiffy #YourTribe #startupnews #startuphiring #saas

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We’re Not Just Building Apps In the startup industry, budgets, locations, and timelines can shift too fast. I’ve come to realize that, beyond delivering great apps and solutions, building trusted, long-term relationships is where the real value lies. At Needplex, we understand that every founder faces tough choices, especially in the early phases of their projects. This means that, sometimes, potential clients may need to choose a different path initially. We respect that because we’re here for the bigger picture. Our goal isn’t just to be the first option - it’s to be the partner that startups and businesses turn to as they grow, evolve, and scale. One of the things I’ve learned is that if you focus on relationships instead of transactions, the partnerships will come, often at the perfect time. That’s why we’re committed to providing value even outside of direct project work - by staying in touch, sharing insights, and supporting the broader tech community. What drives you in your work? #needplex #business #relationships #partnership #businessowner #app #startup #insight #development

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7 steps in which OYO Rooms' became a National Giant In the fast-paced world of hospitality, few firms have had as significant an influence as OYO Rooms. Their rapid expansion shows the power of a well-executed digital strategy. Here's how OYO used technology to scale rapidly and successfully in seven steps: 1. Data-Driven Decisions: OYO used advanced analytics to understand market demands, customer preferences, and operational efficiencies. Their data-centric approach enabled them to make informed decisions, optimise pricing, and enhance customer experiences. 2. Technology Integration: OYO integrated cutting-edge technology into every aspect of their business. From booking platforms to customer service, their tech stack ensured seamless operations and superior service delivery. 3. Scalable Infrastructure: By building a scalable digital infrastructure, OYO was able to rapidly expand into new markets without compromising on service quality. Their robust backend systems supported a growing network of hotels and homes globally. 4. Mobile First Approach: Recognising the shift towards mobile, OYO developed a user-friendly app that allowed customers to book rooms, check in, and manage their stays effortlessly. This mobile-first strategy significantly enhanced user engagement and satisfaction. 5. Global Reach with Local Adaptation: OYO's digital strategy wasn't just about global expansion; it was also about local adaptation. They tailored their offerings to meet local needs and preferences, ensuring relevance in diverse markets. 6. Agile Marketing Campaigns: Leveraging digital marketing channels, OYO ran targeted campaigns to reach potential customers. Their agile marketing approach, powered by real-time data, allowed for quick adjustments and a maximised ROI. 7. Partnerships and Integrations: Strategic partnerships with online travel agencies and other platforms amplified OYO’s reach. Integrations with third-party services provided added value to customers, making OYO a preferred choice. - Enjoyed this? ♻️ Repost it to your network and follow Suvam Sahoo for more. Want help to scale your brand and digital presence as a founder? Book a free discovery call with me - send a 'hi' in dm :) #Hospitality #DigitalTransformation #TechInnovation #BusinessGrowth #OYORooms #MarketingStrategy #CustomerExperience #GlobalExpansion #Leadership #Innovation

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Assert AI, a computer vision SAAS company, has raised Rs 30 crore ($4 million) in a funding round led by prominent investors including Ramesh Hariharan (ex-CTO and co-founder of LatentView Analytics), Prashant Purker (former MD & CEO of ICICI Venture), Arya.ag (integrated grain commerce platform), and select individuals. Assert AI has operations in India, the US, and the Middle East. Assert AI empowers computers with a pair of eyes that never sleep and a program to process the visual inputs and identify and process things simulating a human vision, sans human error. It helps businesses and organizations automate processes, improve customer experiences, and gain valuable insights into their operations. The company’s has three flagship products – Pratham, Alpha and Falcon. Pratham is a no-code platform for computer vision while Alpha offers clients multiple options to consume and integrate data into their production systems. Its third product Falcon revolutionizes warehouse inventory management with real-time tracking and optimization capabilities. Founders: Job Philip, Nitin Jain, Shalabh Shalabh Follow Rise & Shine for daily startup updates. Stay informed, stay ahead ➡️ www.riseshine.in #saas #computervision #funding #nocode #startup #investors

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