Exclusive: Deftouch Bags Funding From KRAFTON, Others To Build Mobile Games

Gaming publisher Deftouch has secured an undisclosed amount of funding in a round co-led by KRAFTON, T-accelerate Capital and existing investor Lumikai. The round also saw participation from existing backers Visceral Capital and Play Venture. 

The Bengaluru-based startup plans to deploy the capital to scale up its existing portfolio of games (King Of Cricket), develop new games and hire new talent. 

Deftouch cofounder and CEO Ninad Bhagwat told Inc42 that the startup will also utilise the funds to experiment with new features and build “bold concepts” going forward. 

“We love to experiment with bold concepts. Even though we are building a cricket game right now, we like to experiment a lot with features that might unlock certain monetisation schemes and so on,” Bhagwat said.

Founded by Bhagwat and Keshav Sunder in 2017, Deftouch (previously All Star Games) is a mobile-game developer that primarily focusses on the sports category. It claims to have around 2 Lakh daily users. The startup claims that its ‘King of Cricket’ game racked up 10 Mn downloads in 2024.

Deftouch’s portfolio also includes games like Cricket Star, RCB Cricket and All Star Cricket.

It counts Kalaari Capital and angel investor Arun Venkatachalam among its early investors. In 2021, it bagged $1.5 Mn from Lumikai and Play Ventures.

On the latest funding round, Bhagwat said, “We are super excited to have on board KRAFTON India, T-Accelerate Capital and Visceral Capital. Their extensive industry knowledge and experience will help take us to our next milestones. We are also proud that Lumikai Fund and Play Ventures have shown continued support in this round, they have played an important role in our traction so far.” 

He added that the startup plans to raise its Series A round by the end of next year. 

The development comes close on the heels of KRAFTON India recently expanding the first cohort of its gaming incubator with the addition of two new startups – Dunali Games and Arjuna Studios. 

Last year, KRAFTON also committed to invest $150 Mn in Indian gaming and entertainment startups over the next two to three years. The South-Korean gaming major is also mulling establishing a research and development (R&D) facility in India by 2026.

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