Indian game streaming platform Loco secured $42 million in an investment round led by Hashed and participation from Makers Fund, Catamaran Ventures, and Korea Investment Partners. The investment will assist Loco in further accelerating the company’s streaming technology and content initiatives.
All the investors from the company’s seed round, including Krafton, Lumikai, and Hiro Capital, also participated. With its new fundraise, Loco will continue investing in developing the Indian gaming ecosystem and nurturing the Indian gaming community.
“We started Loco with a mission to democratize gaming, and this investment will help us make significant progress towards our end goal,” said Anirudh Pandita, co-founder of Loco.
“Today, we are the platform where gamers go from being newbies to becoming gaming superstars. Loco is actively transforming the entertainment experience for Indian users and we are excited about the new investors joining us in building the future of entertainment,” added Anirudh.
Loco recorded massive growth in the lockdown
Loco has been a pioneer in the live game streaming and Esports sector in India, paving the way for gaming to go from a niche hobby to the mainstream national interest.
The ‘Made in India’ platform is home to India’s most popular streamers such as Sc0ut, Mavi, Godlike’s Jonathan, Villager Esports, 8Bit-Thug, Ghatak, Kaztro Gaming, Eagle GamingOP, S8ulSid, Clutchgod, Kaashvi, Xyaa, Rakazone, Rawknee, and Ankkita.
Loco has snowballed over the last year, with daily active viewers scaling by 15x, monthly active viewers scaling by 8x, monthly active streamers rising by 5x, and live watch hours climbing by 78x since Jan 2021.
Highly active users spend over 1 hour daily on Loco, making it the gaming community’s platform of choice for a seamless streaming and highly engaging fan experience.
The company believes that gaming will define the customer entertainment experience over the next decade. Powered by 5G, gaming will make entertainment more immersive, providing users with delightful social experiences in virtual worlds.
In addition, Web3 will transform the nature of ownership of virtual goods, allowing fans to participate in the entertainment process in a more meaningful manner than has ever been possible before.
With these tailwinds driving consumer behavior, Loco aims to build the social experience platform for the virtual world, serving the 700 million+ Indians who will experience these virtual worlds in the coming years.
