Exclusive: Ziffi Chess raises over $5 Mn led by Tanglin Venture

Ziffi Chess, a 2 min chess format game, has secured Rs 44.2 crore ($5 million) in its Series A round led by Tanglin Venture Partners along with participation of existing investors India Quotient, DeVC and others.

Previously, ZIffi raised around Rs 7.3 crore in Seed round across 2 tranches from India Quotient, DeVC and few other angel investors. However, the company did not disclose both funding rounds (nearly $6 million) in the media.

The board at Ziffi Chess issued 3,792 Series A CCPS and an equity share at an issue price of Rs 1,16,583 each to raise the aforementioned amount, as per its regulatory filing with the Registrar of Companies (RoC).

New investor Tanglin Venture Partners spearheaded the round with Rs 34.4 crore (around $3.9 million) followed by existing investor India Quotient via IQ Alpha IV who invested Rs 8.6 crore. Remaining amount covered by DevC, Symphysis LSV LLP and Rohan Nayak.

According to Entrackr’s estimates, the Gurugram-based company is currently valued at Rs 206 crore or $23.5 million post-allotment.

Following the allotment of this round, Tanglin Venture Partners holds a 16.67% stake in the company, while India Quotient owns 15.2%. The two co-founders, Akshat Bansal and Aditya Dubey together retain a 53.54% stake.

Founded in 2023 by IIT-B alumni Akshat Bansal and Aditya Dubey, who previously led the quick-commerce pivot at Blinkit, Ziffi Chess brings a fresh take on the game with its unique 2-minute, 6-move format. It allows players to compete in quick matches and win cash rewards. While games can be played for free, the tournament mode features a prize pool of Rs 350.

After the government’s blanket ban on real-money online gaming, Ziffi Chess now allows users to play matches free of cost. Earlier, it charged an entry fee starting from Rs 10, according to a review on the App Store.

In Ziffi’s first year of operations in FY24, it recorded an operating revenue of Rs 1.5 lakh while its expenses recorded at Rs 87.65 lakh. During the period, the company incurred a loss of Rs 86 lakh.

Tanglin Venture Partners, the venture capital firm set up by former Tiger Global executive Ravi Venkatesh, is preparing to launch its third fund with a target corpus of $250 million. The firm’s portfolio spans startups such as Pocket FM, Moglix, Sugar.fit, Good Flippin' Burgers, abCoffee, Scapia, Plum, Open, Ninjacart, Jupiter, Rupeek, among others.