Ahead Of IPL 2021, Dream11 Parent Raises $400 Mn From TCV, D1 Capital, Falcon Edge

Ahead of the new Indian Premier League (IPL 2021) season, Mumbai-based sports tech startup Dream Sports, the parent company of online fantasy sports platform Dream11, has announced the completion of a $400 Mn secondary investment led by TCV, D1 Capital Partners and Falcon Edge.

The round also saw participation from existing investors like Tiger Global, ChrysCapital, TPG Growth, Steadview Capital and Footpath Ventures. The round saw Silicon Valley-based TCV investing for the first time in an Indian startup. It has invested in tech giants like Netflix, Airbnb, Sportradar and Peloton.

Reports last month suggested that existing investors including China’s Tencent Holdings, Kalaari Capital and Multiples Alternate Asset Management among other investors are looking to sell their shares. It is as yet unclear whether these investors have seen an exit from the company.

In September 2020, Dream Sports raised $225 Mn from New York-based investment firm Tiger Global Management, an investment wing of global private investment firm TPG Global, India-focussed private equity firm ChrysCapital and investment firm Footpath Ventures. With this funding, China’s Tencent Holdings’ shares in the company came down to below 10%.

TCV general partner Gopi Vaddi said, “India is home to the world’s largest and most energetic sports fan base with a dynamic mix that is unique to the subcontinent. Dream Sports is serving this community with a highly innovative product offering. We are inspired by what Harsh, Bhavit and the Dream Sports team have built, and we look forward to partnering with them.”

Founded by Bhavit Sheth and Harsh Jain in 2008, Dream Sports over the years have ventured into providing multiple fan engagement avenues, including fantasy sports, content, commerce, experiences and events among others. Some of its portfolio companies include fantasy sports platform Dream 11, gaming content streaming platform FanCode, gaming events platform DreamSetGo and sports accelerator DreamX. Its fantasy sports platform Dream 11 claims to have 80+ Mn users.

In FY19, Dream Sports’ revenue stood at INR 801.7 Cr, compared to INR 227.8 Cr in FY18, which is a 251.9% increase. However, its losses widened to INR 131 Cr from INR 65 Cr. Also, the company still has a long way to go in terms of achieving profitability as it is spending heavily on advertising, including the upcoming IPL 2021 in April.