WinZO is a Gaming start-up founded in the year 2018. They have a pure ‘Made in India’ product which is a vernacular Android app available in 12 languages with a curated portfolio of more than 70 games. It is India’s largest social gaming app which creates competitive multi-player gaming experiences. They have a vast influencer network of 50 million registered users and are targeting largely underserved demographics in India.
They partner with leading game developers and third-party game studios providing in-game integration of their social gaming framework. WinZO hosts their partners’ games on their app. In turn, gamers on WinZO can enjoy a Netflix-like multiplayer user experience.
WinZO and Griffin Gaming Partner’s unification
Griffin Gaming Partners is uniting with WinZO through the latter’s recent Series C funding round valued at $65 M which was led by Griffin. As part of this deal, Griffin’s co-founder ‘Phil Sanderson’ will be inducted into WinZO’s Board of Directors. This fundraise will be Griffin’s maiden investment in the Indian mobile gaming market.
Griffin is headquartered in California, and they were attracted by WinZO’s management team as well as the extraordinary vision they held for their product. Their interest was also piqued by WinZO’s incredible retention and monetisation metrics.
WinZO, on the other hand is all set to disrupt the Indian gaming ecosystem by using the experience and insights into the global media and entertainment landscape which Griffin brings with it through their unification. This funding deal has taken the total valuation of investment raised by WinZO so far to $90 M.
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As part of this deal, Griffin’s co-founder ‘Phil Sanderson’ will be inducted into WinZO’s Board of Directors.
What’s in it for me?
WinZO announced a ten-fold increase in its revenue within a span of 12 months. The gaming industry has experienced a boom and WinZO tapped into this at the most opportune time. WinZO has catered to the varying tastes of Indian gamers by offering games from different genres on its platform including casual and card games, esports and battle royale. This variety and diversity is their winning mantra.
There are a staggering 2.5 Billion microtransactions occurring monthly on WinZO’s platform, and the massive user base of 50 million which is wholly attributed to their vernacular consumer base. These metrics have contributed to their success in a span of just 3 years.
The fact that the company currently does not have competitors for its horizontal marketplace platform has also contributed to its immense growth. They also have an amazing retention rate which has also led to their explosive growth.
The gaming industry in India and worldwide is growing rapidly. Institutional investors are increasingly interested in funding start-ups like WinZO which are targeting a huge market like India. Game-tech is the next best investor favourite after the EdTech industry especially in India.
