WaterBridge Ventures And Lumikai Fund Back Creator Led Live Social Gaming Platform EloElo

Live social gaming platform EloElo has raised a pre-series A round of $2.1 Mn co-led by Waterbridge Ventures and Lumikai Fund. Better Capital and talent management firm Exceed Entertainment also participated in the round.

The company stated it would deploy the infused funds to focus on creator partnerships as well as aid the launch of new Live game formats, scaling the platform to the next 10 Mn users.

Founded in August 2020 by IIT and IIM alumni Saurabh Pandey and Akshay Dubey, the Bengaluru-based startup is a live streaming and social gaming platform. It brings indigenous activities like tambola and talented performers in live formats with creators hosting games for their community of fans.

Saurabh Pandey, CEO and cofounder of EloElo, said “Live video is increasingly resonating with fans as it helps them build ‘authentic’ relationships with creators. Today our users spend anywhere between 30-35 minutes daily enjoying live games, live streams on our app. In the next one year, we will be launching multiple creator-led live games and event formats that unlocks monetization for creators and interactive entertainment for users.”

The company claims to have seen a 15X spike in users over the past 6 months, crossing 1 Mn users on the platform with over 100 Mn game events recorded. Additionally, it also stated that the platform has on boarded over 15,000 influencers organically over the past few months. Interestingly, 50% of Eloelo’s user base happens to be of females.

Currently, the company is operating at the intersection of two of the fastest growing sectors in India, the gaming sector and the creator economy. Speaking on these sectors, Akshay Dubey, cofounder, EloElo commented “There are over 5 Mn creators in India but over 97% of them have very limited income opportunities. With our differentiated offering, we have seen a lot of excitement from creators who have joined the platform and invited their fans from social platforms as well.”

“The creator economy is experiencing an inflection point around the world and across market segments like India, Bharat, Gaming, and more. A brand new infrastructure is being built to help creators build, earn and grow,” said Vaibhav Domkundwar of Better Capital.

Additionally, the gaming sector has also been one of the hottest sectors in the last few years. Investor interest is increasing in the space as well. Nazara went for an IPO, MTG acquired PlaySimple for $360Mn, and WinZo raised $65Mn in Series C, all in 2021. From INR 136 Bn revenue and 433 Mn gamers today, the market is expected to reach a revenue of INR 290 Bn and 657 Mn gamers by 2025.

Over the course of 2020, even game streaming became extremely popular. Users prefer streaming games for similar reasons as playing games – entertainment and social connect.  Today, people rely on platforms like YouTube, where creators like Tanmay Bhat have popularised streaming by playing games like Among Us, Chess, etc. on their channels. PUBG players like Carry Minati and Team SouL too have gained recognition through streaming.

Increasing number of startups have also begun to operate in the game streaming space. For instance, Loco, a game streaming company, recently raised $9Mn. Additionally, Unacademy also acquired game streaming platform Rheo TV.