Mobile Premier League becomes India's second gaming unicorn. It raised funds at a $2.3 billion valuation after the pandemic drove entertainment-starved consumers to mobile. The Bangalore-based startup raised capital from investors led by Legatum Capital, Accrete Capital, Gaingels LLC, Moore Strategic Ventures LLC and RTP Global.

On its app platform, the three-year-old startup connects game publishers with users. Users in India, Indonesia, and the United States can play hundreds of free games ranging from sudoku, speed chess, and puzzles to shooting, fantasy, and strategy games, as well as compete in gaming competitions for cash prizes.

Its catchphrase to entice fans is "make money and become famous by playing mobile games."

According to app measurement firm Sensor Tower, India is one of the world's largest marketplaces for game downloads, with 840 million instals in June. Indian competitors are hoping that their path to expansion in India and beyond will be easier now that neighbouring China is cracking down on its gambling enterprises.

MPL is India's first gaming unicorn, backed by Sequoia Capital and Tiger Global Management. Its founders tested their idea for paid-entry gaming contests by organizing sessions on their rooftop. As the number of participants grew they introduced a 5-rupee (7 U.S. cents) entry fee and a winner-takes-all prize. "Within weeks, the rooftop could no longer accommodate the rush of gamers," Kiran Singh, co-founder of MPL said.

MPL launched in the fall of 2018 and reached 600,000 daily active users in just three months. The application was released at a time when cellphones were becoming more cheaper, internet data was becoming more reasonable, and digital payment infrastructure was becoming more reliable. Sequoia Capital and Moore Strategic Ventures were among the business's early supporters; Kiran and Malhotra had previously launched and sold hardware startup Creo, which helped them get investors for MPL.“We were lucky to be at the right place at the right time," Kiran said.