Sports entertainment startup Smaaash raises Rs 40 Cr in fresh round

Smaaash, a sports-based entertainment, and gaming company has raised Rs 40 crore from a clutch of HNIs include Ravi Modi, Vijaylaxmi Poddar, and others.

Last year in December, Smaaash had raised $14 million in equity financing which was syndicated by Avendus Wealth Management. Prior to this investment, it raised Rs 25 crore from Sixth Sense Ventures.

Since its inception in 2012, Smaaash has raised a total amount of worth Rs 762 crore in equity and debt financing. Sachin Tendulkar co-owned company owns and operates sports-centric digital entertainment centres for games such as cricket, football, go-karting, bowling and a host of virtual games.

The brainchild of brokerage firm Sharekhan's founder Shripal Morakhia, Smaaash kicked off operations in 2012 with 40,000 sq ft in Mumbai.

Currently, the platform has 27 gaming centres across 13 cities which including Mumbai, Hyderabad, Gurgaon, Delhi, Mysore, Noida, Bengaluru and others along with the US, China and the Middle East.

In India, Smaaash operates five gaming arcades, which offer a host of gaming options including famous international cricketers like former Australian spinner Shane Warne and former Pakistani fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar.

Also read: Sachin Tendulkar co-owned sports entertainment startup Smaaash raises $14 Mn

The Mumbai-based company has launched the concept in 2013. Three years later, it on-boarded popular soccer star Christiano Ronaldo to develop football simulations. Besides Tendulkar and Fidelis World, times group owner BCCL is also an investor in the sports startup.

According to a report by Flurry Analytics, India currently ranks among the top five countries in the world for online and mobile gaming. As per a Google KPMG report 2017, the online gaming industry in India is estimated to be worth over $360 million which is poised to grow around $1 billion by 2021.

The funding news was first reported by Paper.vc