Flipkart acquires mobile gaming startup Mech Mocha

Walmart-owned Flipkart, India’s leading ecommerce marketplace, has announced the acquisition of Mech Mocha, a mobile gaming startup, for an undisclosed valuation. This buyout is expected to strengthen the ecommerce company's gaming portfolio.

According to a statement, the acquisition brings into Flipkart the Intellectual Property of Mech Mocha and the team. Mech Mocha runs live social gaming platform – Hello Play.

“Mech Mocha’s skilled gaming team will also join Flipkart as the company continues to focus on developing new and innovative formats to engage with users on its platform,” the statement said. 

On the transaction, Mech Mocha Co-founder and CEO Arpita Kapoor said, “With Vocal for Local being the focus for digital apps across the nation, this strategic backing of Flipkart provides us an opportunity to be part of a larger ecosystem that helps us create unique social gaming experiences for Indian users.”

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This six-year-old startup, founded by Arpita Kapoor and Mohit Rangaraju, has received funding from venture capitalists such as Accel, Blume Ventures, and Shunwei Capital.

According to Flipkart, social mobile gaming is seeing massive growth and adoption in India, as socially distanced consumers are looking for ways to connect with friends and family over fun casual games. Mech Mocha's gaming platform is available in seven Indian local languages, and has over 10 games, including Ludo, Carrom, Snakes & Ladder, and Cricket.

Prakash Sikaria, Vice-President of Flipkart, said, “At Flipkart, we are focused on providing consumers with an opportunity to access great products and content while giving them an engaging experience. We see many first-time e-commerce users come online through formats such as video and games, as they build familiarity with the medium. Our observations of Flipkart GameZone, reflect this trend as we see a strong correlation between casual gamers becoming early shoppers on Flipkart for their digital journey.”