Gaming firm BuyStars raises $5M from Lumikai, Chiratae

Gaming platform BuyStars has raised $5 million in a pre-Series A funding round led by Lumikai. Other investors like Chiratae and Leo Capital also participated in the round.

The company said it will use the fresh funds to launch new games on its platform. Founded in 2021 by ex-Junglee Games executive Aman Sathija and former Flipkart executive Sriram Krishnamoothy, BuyStars offers fantasy games, player trading, and trump cards, among other real-money games.

"Aman and Sriram’s thesis around driving engagement and long-term retention via leveraging collectibles and trading cards for a fantasy-focused audience base is deeply compelling," said Salone Sehgal, Founding General Partner of Lumikai.

To date, BuyStars has raised $9 million through venture capital firms, among others, the company said in a statement.

“BuyStars was started with a mission to disrupt how cricket fans engage with games today," said Aman Satija, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Co-founder, BuyStars, in a statement.

The company claims to have 1.5 million registered users since its launch about two years ago. It received seed money from Chiratae's Sonic programme in 2022, where the investment firm backed 19 startups.

According to Sehgal, the global sports collectibles market is valued at $5.4 billion annually with sports cards trading volume growing at nearly 140% year-on-year.