Fantasy Akhada, which is sponsored by cricket pundit Harsha Bhogle, is in advanced discussions to fund $5 million (approximately Rs 36.5 crore) in a Series A round. The site, which was launched in January of last year, has so far raised $1 million. This includes a Rs 5 crore loan from Prime Securities, a financing banking firm, in September.
“We’ve raised $1 million and have a strong client base,” says the entrepreneur. ” Now, in order to keep our momentum going, we’ll need to raise a significant amount of money. We are looking for a Series A round and have given Prime Securities the mandate,” founder Amit Purohit told ET.
In August, Bhogle joined the Gurgaon-based firm as an investor and model ambassador.
Fantasy Akhada, one of the late entrants into India’s fast-growing fantasy gaming market, currently has 500,000 monthly active consumers, with 30% of them paying, according to Purohit.
When asked if the lack of live India cricket harms business, he said that there are more than enough cricket events going on right now, and the line-up for the next two years looked extremely good.
“We have 30% of our consumers that pay with money. They don’t only play while the Indian team is on the field. They’re now involved in the Dhaka Premier Division T20 League, European T10, Caribbean domestic tour, and other events, and our users are putting together teams for them as well,” Purohit explained.
There have been major properties every few months between the remaining matches of the Indian Premier League 2021, IPL 2022, ICC T20 World Cup, and ICC Men’s World Cup.
“In terms of cash burn, we can’t compete with our rivals, and that’s not our mentality. He added, “We keep a keen eye on profitability and are continually upgrading our technology.”
Fantasy Akhada now offers fantasy sports activities based on cricket and soccer events. The company wants to expand its sports offering to include kabaddi, basketball, and baseball. The corporate’s most important markets are Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Bihar, and Gujarat.
English 
Hindi