Dream Sports gains US$8bn valuation as it seeks sports technology empire
- Dream Sports was valued at US$2.5bn in late 2020
- Latest round led by Falcon Edge, DST Global, D1 Capital, RedBird Capital and Tiger Global
- Company has 1,000 employees and 140m users
Indian fantasy gaming firm Dream Sports is now valued at US$8 billion after the company raised another US$800 million to fund its push into other areas of sports technology.
This latest round was led by Falcon Edge, DST Global, D1 Capital, RedBird Capital and Tiger Global, with participation from existing investors including TPG and Footpath Ventures. The valuation is a huge increase from the US$5 billion Dream Sports was estimated to be worth in March following a US$400 million fundraising effort and the US$2.5 billion it was valued at last September.
Mumbai-based Dream Sports was founded in 2008 and now employs more than 1,000 people. It is best known for Dream11, one of the biggest fantasy sports games in India, and has previously sponsored the Indian Premier League (IPL) cricket competition.
However, it also has ambitions to develop a wider sports technology ecosystem and has interests in areas like ticketing, ecommerce and content through its other businesses and has invested in Indian startups through its Dream Capital arm. It has also launched a ‘DreamX’ startup incubator.
This latest funding will allow it to accelerate these efforts and leverage the full potential of its existing user base and a huge domestic market in India. It plans to double down on its existing ventures and expand further into areas like gaming, fitness technology and fan experiences.
Diversification would also make Dream Sports more immune to legal challenges over concerns that Dream11 is too similar to gambling, which is illegal in India.
“Our vision and mission is to create an entrepreneur-led virtuous cycle of investment, innovation and wealth creation for all stakeholders in the sports ecosystem, from fans to athletes, teams and leagues,” said Harsh Jain, chief executive and co-founder of Dream Sports. “Our investors have deep experience in developing sports ecosystems globally, and we are fortunate to have their guidance to ‘make sports better’ for one billion Indian sports fans.”
Gloss