Games2win India Pvt. Ltd has
announced that it has raised US$ 5 million from
two leading venture capital firms - Clearstone
and SVB Financial Group. Clearstone is the lead
investor in the company and has invested the
majority of funds.
Games2win India was spun out as
a separate entity in the latter part of 2006
from Contests2win.com India as a standalone
business, dedicated to the online gaming
marketplace. Alok Kejriwal heads Games2win,
while the co-founders include Cyrus Oshidar,
Creative Head, MTV Networks, and Mahesh
Khambadkone, who was earlier with Dhruva
Interactive and Lisle Technologies.
Clearstone Venture Partners
provides venture capital for technology
innovators in the computing and Internet
sectors. On the other hand, SVB Financial Group,
the parent company of SVB Silicon Valley Bank,
serves both emerging and mature companies in the
technology, life science, private equity and
premium wine industries.
Said Alok Kejriwal, Founder
& CEO, Games2win, "We are delighted to be
partnering with Clearstone and SVB at the early
stage of our growth. Our investors have deep
experience in helping consumer-facing web
companies to scale up and go to market, while we
also intend to significantly leverage their
well-placed connections in the global economy.
Also, as we scale rapidly, our investors will be
well placed to help us with additional rounds of
financing."
Commented Rahul Khanna,
Director, Clearstone, "Internet users in India
are still highly under-served when it comes to
online entertainment that is relevant and
compelling. With its unique blend of topical,
irreverent and action-packed games, we are
confident that Games2win will be a dominant
player in the rapidly growing online gaming
marketplace in India. With Clearstone's track
record of building category leading consumer
Internet businesses like Paypal, MP3.com and
Etoys, we look forward to building Games2Win
into a globally recognised brand."
"With the emergence of gaming
as a significant channel of entertainment in
India and the region, SVB is excited to be
making this investment in Games2Win. In addition
to their considerable creative talent, Alok and
his team have the essential business experience
and a proven track record that positions them
for success," said Ash Lilani, Head, SVB Global.
SVB Global helps SVB Financial Group clients
navigate global technology and venture capital
markets.
Games2win has been operating
its casual games website since six months and
has been very successful in ramping up traffic
and stickiness. The site attracts Indian and
international gamers who are served exclusive
games that are created by the in-house studios.
The site has already attracted large advertisers
such as TataSky, Zee Group and AXN, among
others.
Games2win intends to be an
aggressive player in the Massive Multiplayer
Online Games business in India and has signed up
an exclusive world-class title for an April
release in India. The investments received will
be used for capital investments, joint ventures,
brand building and working capital requirements.