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Indore-based Shuru, a hyperlocal community app launched by Roposo cofounder Mayank Bhangadia, has raised INR 29 Cr (around $3.37 Mn) in a funding round led by South Korean gaming major KRAFTON’s India arm, with participation from Omidyar Network India and Eximius Ventures.
According to the startup’s MCA filing accessed by Inc42, the board of Close App Private Limited, the parent of Shuru, passed a special resolution to allot 3,793 Series A Compulsory Convertible Cumulative Preference Shares (CCCPS) of INR 10 face value at a premium price of INR 76,381.83 per share for INR 28.97 Cr.
While KRAFTON India infused INR 21.62 Cr into Shuru, Omidyar Network India and Eximius Ventures invested INR 6.48 Cr and INR 86.32 Lakh, respectively, as per the filing.
KRAFTON said in a statement that the investment will enable it to engage with regional audiences, drive grassroots-level community connect and broaden reach for its games across local markets in India.
Meanwhile, Shuru aims to tap KRAFTON’s expertise by expanding high engagement games to its userbase.
Founded in 2021 by Bhangadia and Harsh Chhabra, community-driven social app Shuru aims to bridge the gap between people and their surroundings. The app allows users to share updates, support local businesses and address civic issues and build stronger communities. It claims to have a user base of 1 Cr.
Bhangadia is the founder of Gurugram-headquartered video entertainment app Roposo which was acquired by advertising tech unicorn InMobi in 2019.
KRAFTON Stepping Up The India Play
The investment aligns with KRAFTON’s commitment to invest between $150-200 Mn in India as part of its expansion strategy. The company has already invested about $200 Mn in India to capture a lion’s share of the homegrown gaming market.
Since the start of this year, the PUBG maker has placed some major bets in the Indian startup ecosystem. Through its gaming incubator programme, the company picked six gaming studios from India and offered a grant of up to $150,000 each to the selected participants.
Besides, the company also beefed up its holding to 75% in Pune-based game development studio Nautilus Mobile with an additional investment of INR 118 Cr. Digital entertainment and technology company JetSynthesys also secured an undisclosed amount from KRAFTON last month.
Earlier, KRAFTON told Inc42 that as part of its expansion strategy in India, it would pick minority stakes in some promising startups in the country and as the synergy grows, it would slowly increase its stakes in the acquired entity.
The BGMI developer said that it further plans to continue undertaking such acquisitions in the future.
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