Ex-Unacademy CXO-founded gaming startup LightFury raises $8.5M

Gaming startup LightFury Games has raised $8.5 million in a seed funding round from Blume Ventures, Mixi Inc, and Gemba Capital.

Angel investors including Kunal Shah and Gaurav Munjal also participated in the funding round.

The startup plans to use the funds to develop AAA games—typically high-profile, high-budget titles—in India, and hire in India and the UK.

"Creating successful AAA titles in the Indian market and establishing a Tencent-like presence originating from India, is what we are excited to bring to the fore," said Karan Shroff, Co-founder of LightFury Games.

"It would necessitate building the finest expertise and leveraging state-of-the-art technological innovations to ensure top-tier gameplay quality," Shroff, who was earlier the Chief Marketing Officer and Partner at Unacademy.

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Shroff's co-founders include Anurag Banerjee, a gaming industry veteran who has worked with companies such as GAME7, Ubisoft, WB Games Montreal Inc etc. Banerjee has also helped develop several high-profile AAA games including Assasin's Creed, Batman's Arkham Asylum, and Suicide Squad.

Tina Balachandran, a former executive at Unacademy and Tencent Games, has joined LightFury Games as co-founder.

"The ability to piece together the talent and bring in believers from the gaming and consumer universe make it one of our most exciting investments we’ve made in this space," said Karthik Reddy, Co-founder and Managing Director at Blume Ventures.