Paytm First Games Raises $5.4 million from AGTech Media

Alibaba Group and One97 Communications Limited backed Paytm First Games has raised INR 40.75 Cr (around $5.4 million) from AGTech Media Private Limited.

Based on the Ministry of Corporate Affairs filings, a report by Inc42 said that the investment was made by AGTech Media in return for 4.2 million equity shares of the gaming company.

Paytm First Games recently claimed that amid the nationwide lockdown due to COVID-19, the platform has witnessed a 200% increase in its user base in India.

In January, they released a platform stat report called Gamestats 2019, which reported that Paytm First Games app had 45 million users in 2019. As per their website, the gaming platform hosts over 200 games including fantasy cricket, teen patti, ludo, 8-ball, live quiz and rummy.

The company also recently received INR 48.79 Cr ($6.6 Mn) from Paytm Entertainment in March 2020.

As per Inc42, Paytm founder and CEO Vijay Shekhar Sharma, earlier noted that ‘one cannot just continue to consume passive entertainment such as Netflix, TV shows, and TikTok. And gaming provides a break from that passiveness, gaming is a cognitively loaded way of entertainment.’

Paytm First Games also recently organized its first esports tournament ‘Clash Royale’ from April 10 to 12 in partnership with game developer and publisher SuperCell. The prize pool of the tournament was INR 4 lakh.
Paytm First Game was launched in February 2018 under the name Gamepind in a JV with AGTech. It was rebranded in June 2019.