Gaming and esports venture capital fund BITKRAFT Ventures has received a $2.5m (~GBP1.9m) investment from India-based gaming and sports media company Nazara.
According to the announcement, Nazara will invest $875,000 (~GBP666,000) upfront and another $1.6m (GBP1.2m) over a period of three years. In turn, Nazara plans to ‘leverage the BITKRAFT Ventures network’ for a number of strategic initiatives.
(ESI Illustration) Image credit: BITKRAFT Ventures / Nazara
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The aim of the partnership is to help BITKRAFT expand its presence in India, while also allowing Nazara to get access to the BITKRAFT portfolio companies, the two parties explained in a release.
Manish Agarwal, CEO, Nazara Technologies, commented: “BITKRAFT Ventures have fast established themselves as one of the most promising investors in the global esports and gaming ecosystem. Our investment in BITKRAFT is in line with our long-term commitment to nurturing and empowering the gaming community across the world.
“Over the course of the next few years, this investment will enable us to work towards realizing our strategic vision of becoming the catalysts to empower the global gaming community and chart the next stage of growth in an increasingly connected and virtual world.”
Primarily known for being the parent company of Asian esports firm NODWIN Gaming, Nazara also received an investment from ESL Gaming in 2018.
Last year, BITKRAFT launched a $75m (~GBP55m) Token Fund for blockchain investments within the esports and gaming sectors and secured more than $165m (~GBP121m) in funding to invest in esports and gaming startups that develop blockchain-based solutions. The company has invested in analytics company Bayes, game developer and publisher Epic Games, esports apparel brand H4X and others.
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Malte Barth, Founding General Partner at BITKRAFT Ventures, added: “Given our long-term relationship with Nazara we are very excited to get into this partnership for a win-win-win between Nazara, the BITKRAFT Venture Portfolio companies, and BITKRAFT Ventures as a platform.
“The partnership will help to increase the connectivity into the highly strategic Indian video games market. We have done multiple investments in the subcontinent and intend to do more in the future, in addition to supporting international Investment to drive growth in India.”
Esports Insider says: BITKRAFT Ventures is a known Web3 investment company that also focuses on esports projects. The investment from Nazara will help BITKRAFT increase its presence in India, a fast-developing region when it comes to esports and gaming.