[Funding] Dream 11 raises $225 Million from Tiger Global Management and others

Dream Sports is the parent company of India's leading online fantasy sports company Dream 11. The company has secured fresh funding of $225 million from Tiger Global Management, TPG Tech Adjacencies (TTAD), ChrysCapital and Footpath Ventures. This investment will value Dream 11 at about $2.5 billion.

This particular funding is largely secondary in nature that aims to reduce the holding of Chinese gaming and social media giant Tencent Holdings. Further, Kalaari Capital and Renuka Ramnath's Multiples Alternate Asset Management firm will reduce their stakes in the company in the latest transaction.

Additionally, this is the third investment of Tiger Global Management in an Indian unicorn in 2020. Earlier, the company led funding in ed-tech major Byju's in January, and food-tech Zomato earlier this month.

About Dream 11

Harsh Jain and Bhavit Sheth launched the company in 2018. From then, it has grown to over 450 employees in the last two years. “I am proud of our lean yet highly efficient team that has been the driving force behind the creation of ‘Sports Tech’ as a new industry category in India.” Bhavit Sheth is COO and Co-Founder, Dream Sports.

Talking about the investment, Jain said, "We are excited to welcome our new partners. They share our passion for sports and have extensive experience in building highly valuable tech companies in India." Harsh Jain is the CEO and Co-Founder of Dream Sports.

As per industry estimates, there are close to 100 million players in the country, out of which 82 million use Dream 11.

“The sports sector has high growth potential in India,” said Akshay Tanna, Managing Director, TPG. “There is a significant opportunity to enhance the fan experience and we are excited to partner with Dream Sports to leverage technology in ways that will deepen the connection between Indian fans and the sports they love.”

Dream 11 as IPL Sponsor

Recently, Dream11 has won the title sponsorship rights for the 2020 edition of the IPL for Rs 222 crore. It also signed a co-presenting sponsorship for the league on Star Sports. This may cost them an outgo of Rs 100 crore.

Dream Sports also owns multiple-sport aggregator and fan engagement platform FanCode as well as sports accelerator company DreamX. As per Jain, the overall potential in the next two years will be around 250 million users in India. The growth of the sector has also resulted in the mushrooming of companies in the sector. From around 30 companies in 2016, the fantasy sports sector now has over 200 companies.