Gaming unicorn Games24x7 looks to branch out as technology platform

Gaming unicorn Games24x7 is looking to establish itself as a “technology platform” by making sector-agnostic investments in companies developing innovative technology solutions.

To do this, the company has launched the TechXpedite accelerator, a 60-day accelerator program designed for startups in three key areas of gaming, Artificial Intelligence (AI), and impact-driven inclusive technology, with AWS as its cloud partner.

“Games24x7 has always been a technology company. Yes, we’re focused on gaming, but at the heart of it, we are a technology company,” Bhavin Pandya, co-founder and co-CEO, Games24x7, told Business Standard.

“A lot of the problems that we're solving — such as understanding consumer behaviour, our responsible product initiatives, or fraud detection, etc. — are not problems unique to us. The underlying technology can be used to build other platforms as well,” Pandya added.

The program will provide mentorship, masterclasses, networking, and funding opportunities, along with credits worth $500,000 from over 30 technology partners.

The program builds upon Games24x7’s previous “GameTech Accelerate” program that it had launched in December last year in partnership with the Karnataka government.

“Given our extensive experience spanning close to two decades, we are suitably placed to support the new-age entrepreneurs through mentorship, training and access to capital as they bravely and passionately innovate to create disruptive products and services,” said Pandya.

Founded in 2006 by Pandya and Trivikraman Thampy, Games24x7 is one of three gaming unicorns — companies valued at over $1 billion — in the county, aside from Dream11 and Mobile Premier League (MPL). The company currently has a user base of over 120 million players.

The accelerator program is part of the company’s larger strategy to establish itself as a technology platform. The program is open to startups working on gaming, AI, and inclusive technology. With a focus on scalable innovation, TechXpedite aims to empower startups to create working proofs of concept (PoCs), use-case applications, and market-ready solutions.

The accelerator will culminate in a pitch event in February 2025, where selected startups will present their solutions to a panel of investors, industry experts, and domain leaders.

Games24x7 is also looking to restart investments through its investment arm Games24x7 Ventures, which had taken a pause due to the recent imposition of a 28 per cent blanket goods and service tax (GST) on online gaming by the Centre, Business Standard had reported earlier.

The company had set up Games24x7 Ventures back in November 2022 with a total corpus of Rs 400 crore.