Mobile Premier League (MPL), Asia’s biggest eSports and skill platform with over 85 million users across India, Indonesia, and the United States Of America announced today that it raised its Series E round of financing led by Legatum Capital at a pre-money valuation of $2.3 billion.
Headquartered in Banglore, MPL recently started its business operations in the United States after spending over two years in Indonesia. If you as a founder are looking to register your own small-scale business, check out the best llc services from here. The latest funding round has granted the company Unicorn status – becoming the second Indian gaming startup to do be worth more than $1 billion.
The latest series of funding was led by Legatum Capital and some existing investors including Sequoia, SIG, RTP Global, Go-Ventures, Moore Strategic Ventures, Play Ventures, Base Partners, Telstra Ventures, and Founders Circle Capital. It is unclear how much money MPL raised in its latest round of funding, but as per a source from VentureBeat, the company has managed to raise $150 Million.
“This investment is a recognition of the potential of the Indian gaming and esports industry and an endorsement of the capability of MPL to expand globally. MPL’s proven success in India and Indonesia encouraged us to launch in the US, one of the world’s largest gaming markets. Our US operations are off to a promising start and we’re thus fulfilling our resolve to make our platform the esports and gaming hub of the world,” said Sai Srinivas, Co-founder and CEO, MPL in a press release.
In the previous series of funding (Series D), the company had managed to raise $95 Million and was valued at $945 Million.
Legatum CEO and new MPL board member, Mark Stoleson, said “Legatum is delighted to have led this latest round of funding for MPL as it continues its incredible growth trajectory and becomes the world’s leading esports and skill gaming platform. It is an honour to support Sai, Shubh, and the outstanding team at MPL and to join the other world-class investors in building a company that provides a top-class gaming experience for users, unmatched distribution for developers, and a commitment to building a company with the best global talent and a winning culture. Legatum’s investment in MPL is another example of our strategy to invest in world-class teams building world-scale companies that define categories and serve customers with integrity.”
Earlier this year, MPL acquired esports firm Gaming Monk to develop a full suite of esports and live streaming capabilities. The company also launched Esports Arena, a banner under which MPL will host fortnightly esports tournaments in some of its smartphone-friendly titles such as chess, WCC, pool, etc. In early September, MPL announced its partnership with the Play Magnus Group, founded by Chess superstar Magnus Carlsen, to host the official Indian Circuit for players to qualify for the Meltwater Champion Chess Tour.
MPL has worked with numerous game developers and onboards over 70 games on its platform. It was founded in 2018 by Sai Srinivas and Shubh Malhotra and currently employs over 800 personnel across its offices in prime locations such as Bengaluru, Pune, Jakarta, Singapore, and New York.