[Funding alert] Live sports engagement startup Rooter raises Rs 3.5 Cr from leAD Sports Accelerator Programme

Delhi-based live sports engagement platform Rooter has raised Rs 3.5 crore in funding from leAD Sports Accelerator Programme.

In a statement, the company said this funding is part of its on-going Series A round and will likely see participation of more investors in the near future. The latest infusion of funds will allow Rooter to strengthen its position as India’s biggest sports community, riding on the back of its growing user base and popularity as India’s Live sports engagement platform, it said in a release.

Previously, it secured Rs 4.5 crore Pre-Series A round in August 2018 and Rs 1 crore bridge round in January this year. The startup counts Intex Technologies and Bollywood actor Boman Irani as its early backers.

Commenting on fundraise, Piyush, Founder and CEO, Rooter, said,

“We are determined to utilise the latest round of funding in serving our growing community of passionate sports fans with the best experience.”

ALSO READ

Indian startup Rooter wins global pitch, chosen by sports accelerator leAD

Founded in 2016 by Piyush, Akshat Goel and Dipesh Agarwal, Rooter is a live-sports fan engagement platform that connects sports fans with similar interests around the world, allows users to predict scores, play live fantasy and events with friends during the live game and facilitates building an exclusive sports fraternity.

Its app is available for Android and iOS users in eight vernacular languages as well as providing regional score-cards and a personalised social feed.

Over the years, Rooter has covered sports like cricket, hockey, tennis, football, basketball, badminton, motorsport, and kabaddi. It has connected 2.1 million sports fans through its app and web platform. The platform is focussed on tapping the Tier-II and III sports fan base.

Christoph Sonnen, leAD Sports CEO and ADvantage Sports Fund Partner said, 

"We believe fan engagement solutions will shift from being a passive experience to an active one. Under Piyush's leadership, Rooter is a great position to take over the local and global market with their new live and immersive features. We're proud of their development during and after our Accelerator programme, and very excited to continue this journey with them.”

According to MarketsandMarkets, the overall sports technology market would rise to $31.1 billion by 2024, growing at a CAGR of 20.63 percent. The key growth factors include “significant improvement in audience engagement, growing demand for data-driven decisions and operations, and increasing sports events, online and offline”.

Update: This article has been updated after receiving official confirmation of the funding from Rooter.

(Edited by Saheli Sen Gupta)

ALSO READ

Based on the concept of Tinder, this app is a social platform for sports enthusiasts