The fantasy gaming platform Dream11 made the headlines when it won the right to sponsor the cash-heavy Indian Premier League (IPL), something that turned a lot of heads especially because the Dream11 app is not even available on the Play Store. However, that is not stopping the company, which is seeking to expand into other arenas of the online gaming market. In-house digital sports content and commerce platform FanCode raised $50 million from Dream Sports through its investment arm Dream Sports Investments (DSI), bringing the company one step closer to its goal of becoming a sports tech firm. .
Founded in 2019 by Yannick Colaco and Prasana Krishnan, FanCode is known for providing sports statistics and content to its users. It has grown exponentially since its inception and already has over 20 million users, a number which it aims to expand to 100 million by July 2022. The proceeds from the funding will be used to accelerate the growth and scale of FanCode’s digital sports services, add multiple teams, sports, and clubs and offer a more comprehensive merchandising platform, as well as hiring engineering and product development talent (doubling its team size to 200) and expanding its content and commerce beyond the metropolitan cities of the country. The funds will also help make it the largest sports demand aggregator platform.
“FanCode is transforming the way sports are consumed online by focusing on long-tail sporting events and personalization of content, commerce, and sports statistics across all sports. We are happy to support FanCode’s efforts in scaling up the business and making sports more accessible to over 800 million fans in India,” said Harsh Jain, CEO, and Co-Founder of Dream Sports.
FanCode counts among its partners some of the leading global sports brands such as the NFL, MLB, Cricket West Indies, New Zealand Cricket, NBA, Bundesliga, the IPL franchises, and it has live-streamed nearly 30,000 hours of sports content.
The home-grown Dream Sports, which entered the unicorn family in 2019, has no plans to go public and file for an initial public offering. Instead, it is aiming to become a sports-tech company and expand into avenues other than fantasy gaming, of which Dream11 is the chief.
“The investment from Dream Sports is a testament to the growth and potential of FanCode, and we look forward to scaling our business, continuing to create unique digital fan experiences, forging more strategic partnerships, and onboarding the best talent,” said Prasana Krishnan, Co-Founder of FanCode.
