[Funding alert] Dream11 parent raises $225M from Tiger Global, TPG, ChrysCapital, others

Dream11’s parent company Dream Sports on Monday announced it raised $225 million in a primary and secondary investment, led by Tiger Global Management, TPG Tech Adjacencies (TTAD), ChrysCapital, and Footpath Ventures. 

Talking about the deal, Harsh Jain, CEO and Co-Founder, Dream Sports said, 

“As a homegrown Indian company, we are proud to continue adding value to our 10 crore Indian sports fans, investors, employees, and the overall sports ecosystem in India. In the last two years, we have grown beyond fantasy sports to sports content, merchandise, streaming, experiences, and there is much more to come. Our vision is to ‘Make Sports Better’ for India and Indian fans through sports technology and innovation.”

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Dream11 wins IPL title sponsorship rights for Rs 222 Cr; Tata Group stays away

The 12-year old startup recently won the IPL title sponsorship rights with a bid of Rs 222 crore, replacing Chinese mobile phone company Vivo for a four-and-a-half month deal. Dream11 has been one of the IPL sponsors for a couple of years now.

There is a possibility that Dream11 can stay till the 2022 IPL in case Vivo doesn't come back next year. Dream11 will be then paying Rs 240 crore each for 2021 and 2022. This will make it an average of Rs 234 crore per year for three years.

The gaming startup had become a unicorn in April 2019 after a secondary investment by Steadview Capital, the Asia-focused alternative asset manager. Until 2019, the user base for the platform grew at a CAGR of around 230 percent over the period of three years.

“We have grown from one to many brands and from 200 Sportans (employees of Dream Sports) to 450 in the last two years” added Bhavit Sheth, COO and Co-Founder, Dream Sports.

Founded in 2008 by Harsh Jain and Bhavit Sheth, Mumbai-headquartered Dream Sports has brands such as Dream11, FanCode, DreamX, and DreamSetGo in its portfolio. The company’s vision is to ‘Make Sports Better’ by providing multiple fan engagement avenues like fantasy sports, content, commerce, experiences, and events, among others.