Be it Amir Khan’s Lagaan, Shahrukh Khan’s Chak De India or Priyanka Chopra’s Mary Kom, these movies reflect the deep-rooted relationship between India and sports. Start-ups are leveraging on this relationship and coming up with their unique discoveries. Combining technology and sport, start-ups have created some of the best sports apps and services in the country.
The top 10 sport start-ups in India and what makes them the best.
Dream 11
This unicorn start-up is now a well-established name in and out of the sports world. Sponsoring the IPL to bring fantasy platform in India, the start-up continues raising bars higher and higher. Users on their platform can play fantasy cricket, basketball, hockey, volleyball, football, kabaddi, handball, rugby or even baseball. With more than 10 crore users, they are determined to set new records every day.
SportsApp
SportsApp is a platform integrated simply for connecting one sport lover to another. The app has a wide range of players who have played at different levels and have different experiences. SportsApp was launched to get all players together on their platform. Founded in 2018, the start-up has received funding of $50,000 in its angel round in August 2019.
Adda52
When it comes to playing the right cards, the founders of Adda52 know it all. The Delhi-based start-up allows players to play several card games online with real money. The growing popularity of this start-up led to their merger with Delta Corp in 2017. Indians have always been fond of card games and to no surprise, their app holds more than 20 lakh downloads. Their authentic and easy payment process has bought in popularity amongst users.
Mobile Premier League
Mobile Premier League popularly known as MPL is a tech start-up based in Bangalore. Directly competing with Dream 11, MPL is also a widespread name in the fantasy cricket industry. The company has received fundings from Sequoia Capital India, BeeNext and Times Internet. Their total funding reportedly amounts to $40.5 million. The platform has one of the most popular faces in India, Virat Kholi as their brand ambassador.
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Start-ups are leveraging on the deep-rooted relationship between India and sports.
Run Adam
Newly part of the sport start-up league, Run Adam is already making headlines as it is backed by MS Dhoni. Sources have it that Dhoni has bought a 25% stake in this company. Run Adams is concentrated on uniting sportspersons, professionals and business on their integrated online portal. The company offers athletes to connect with all the needful resources they require in just a click. The start-up also raised $1.5 million in the seed-funding round.
KOOH Sports
KOOH Sports is an international sport start-up with its headquarters in Mumbai. They provide sports education, training and technology intending to promote a healthy lifestyle. Establishing sports programs in schools, they are developing interest amongst children in sports on a foundation level. KOOH is reportedly funded by Elevate Sports, Faering Capital, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) and HDFC Ltd.
Collectabillia
The Bangalore-based start-up is a celebrity commerce company. On their online portal, fans can win memorabilia autographed by their icons through an auction. Along with that, there are several merchandise available too. They aim to inculcate the mindset of personalised merchandise along the same lines as buying an art. The star-crazy market of India is a huge boon to Collectabillia.
Time Of Sports
The Time Of Sports is majorly focused on providing a sports platform for everyone in India with their vision of creating a fit nation. The start-up provides consultancy services to the sports and business sectors along with hosting several sporting events. They have observed an untapped potential in the country when it comes to sports and fitness. Time Of Sports has its presence across UAE, CIS, Singapore and Africa apart from India.
Playo
Playo had an unconventional idea that was much needed in the country. The sport start-up is focused on being the one-stop destination to bring sports back in everyone’s lives. They are focused on empowering the local sports communities by allowing them to make new play pals, discover new venues, organize matches and share experiences. Their app is focused on bringing together recreational activities be it sports, fitness or fun. They want to bring back the childhood memories of playing sports back in everyone’s lives.
BalleBaazi
BalleBaazi is an online fantasy platform that is focused on providing an interactive user experience to its audience. The platform allows users to participate in fantasy sports leagues and is one of the prominent fantasy cricket platforms in India. Along with cricket, BalleBaazi has further expanded its reach to fantasy leagues of other sports too. In 2019, the start-up raised $4 million in Series A funding from Singapore and Delhi.
