India: nCore Games has made a strategic investment of $1 million in gaming company, Newgen Gaming which operates in the esports domain through its brand Penta Esports. This is the first funding round for Newgen Gaming.
The company was founded in 2021 by industry veterans Anurag Khurana, Kiran Noojibail, Akshay Paul and Krishanu Ghosal. Its esports brand, Penta Esports, specialises in multiple verticals including leagues, tournaments and content. With a focus on the grassroots esports ecosystem of India, the brand enables esports athletes with opportunities across titles and platforms.
Since its inception, Penta Esports has launched its grassroot-focused league called the Penta Amateur League and the Penta Collegiate League for colleges and universities, alongside other tournament IPs like the Penta Invitational, Penta Cup, and Penta Challenge. The company’s latest IP, the Penta Pro Series which was an official Valorant Off Season event witnessed participation from the best teams across regions. Additionally the brand also has multiple content IPs and plans to launch more.
The funds will be used to accelerate the growth of the company’s offerings and to expand its team and operations across South Asia and MENA regions.
nCore Games is India’s premiere mobile games and Interactive company and also has investment in Studio nCore, IceSpice and Dot9 Games. The company’s marquee investors include Galaxy Interactive and Animoca Brands. These investors have backed the company as their first investments in the Indian subcontinent in order to tap into the founders deep and unparalleled experience in mobile gaming and the region’s significant growth prospects.
Through this investment, nCore Games will gain access to a strong network of esports athletes and fans, as well as unique and strong content intellectual properties, like Esports in 5, 1v1, Koffee with Kiran and more. Penta Esports will be able to capitalise on its strong growth and momentum with this infusion of capital.
Newgen Gaming founder and CEO, Anurag Khurana said, “We started Newgen Gaming with an objective to democratise gaming and esports in India. We will be scaling up rapidly and providing more opportunities to the players and experiences to the viewers across the region. We’re excited to have raised this round from nCore Games. Vishal and I always had a collective vision that has been aligned to bring growth to the gaming industry. This collaboration will be our first big step together.”
Kaval Bombra Co-founder, President and CEO of nCore Global said, “This strategic investment will mark our foray into esports and we’re thrilled to have Newgen Gaming, an established leader in that segment, as our partner. We believe the team’s collective experience and vision has it poised for enormous growth and provides the right synergy for nCore as it works to establish a comprehensive gaming ecosystem.”
Said nCore Games co-founder Vishal Gondal, “As we set out to build a full-stack gaming ecosystem, we believe Newgen Gaming will be an integral part. Esports event management and fan engagement are set to become key growth drivers for the industry, and we look forward to tapping into Newgen Gaming’s expertise in this area as we build out India’s #1 gaming platform.”
