Backlight Studio Works, the operator of gaming startup Backlight Games, has raised an undisclosed amount of funding in a round led by Udyat Ventures. Other investors including Nazara Technologies’ former CEO Manish Agrawal, Polygon Ventures and Dexter Ventures also participated in the round.
Backlight will deploy the funds across hiring, expanding into new markets, investing in artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) to offer personalisation to players to enhance user experience, VC Circle reported.
Founded in 2011 by Shruti Sarraf and Anurpam Srivasta, the startup develops casual mobile games. Its flagship game Ludo SuperStar has garnered over 200 Mn downloads. Other games developed by Backlight include CallBreak and Carron SuperStar which, according to the startup, have made it to the top 100 games on Play Store in India.
Commenting on the funding, cofounder Srivastava said, “Through the utilisation of AI and ML, we are crafting an unparalleled gaming experience.”
To this, Sarraf added that the startup’s aim from the very beginning has been to develop classic games for the global audience. The global market, according to Sarraf, has growth opportunities, as every smartphone user is a potential gamer.
The startup competes with the gaming studios like Funstop Games, QuriousBit, HighXP, among others.
Recently, Funstop raised $1.5 Mn in a funding round led by InfoEdge Ventures to expand its game development team and boost ad-tech capabilities to strengthen its portfolio of games. The startup also announced that it plans to expand its product, with a focus on India, Turkey, Vietnam, and the UK, in the next two years.
QuriousBit has also secured $2 Mn in a seed funding round led by Lumikai to create a new benchmark in innovative puzzle games built in India for global audiences. With the funds, the startup also plans to expand the team.
Recently, IndiGG IP owner Kratos Studios introduced the Kratos Games Network programme with an INR 50 Cr grant, to offer support to casual gaming startups and encourage them to migrate their games to its blockchain platform. The selected gaming studios will get access to Kratos’ proprietary blockchain tech stack, tapping into its extensive community of 1 Mn global gamers.
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