Bengaluru
Centre Court Capital announced the launch of ₹350-crore fund that is set to back founders in India’s sports and gaming landscape. Founded by Mustafa Ghouse, former CEO of JSW Sports along with Alok Samtaney who was a former Investment Director with TVS Capital and Sabre Partners, the fund has the Sajjan Jindal Family Trust as anchor investor, with Parth Jindal at the helm.
The fund will back founders bringing innovative tech and pushing the boundaries of the sports and gaming ecosystem — a segment that is fast becoming a significant asset class, said the fund house.
Mustafa Ghouse, Founder and General Partner of Centre Court Capital, said, “The sports and gaming sectors are experiencing unprecedented growth in the country. Tech is dominating the narrative of how sport is played and consumed, and we want to be at the forefront of this revolution. We have seen a tremendous rise in both public and private investment in Sports, which has more than quadrupled since 2020. As a result, we’re seeing an acceleration in the number of start-ups that are building from India for India and the world.”
Gaming population
Adding to that, he said, with 396 million gamers, India is the second-largest population of gamers in the world and the gaming sector is poised to grow at a five-year CAGR of 21 per cent. Centre Court Capital believes in the potential of the space, and are focussed on backing exceptional founders who believe they are now ready to compete with the best in class, globally.
The sector-focused VC fund has already raised ₹200 crore in commitments from investors and top athletes. Joining the Jindal family are the Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI), PremjiInvest, USK Capital, and other large corporate sports investors in the country such as GMR Sports and SG Sports.
Centre Court Capital is a SEBI-registered Category-II Alternate Investment Fund (AIF), and is soon launching an offshore feeder fund in GIFT City, to raise capital from international investors. The fund has already completed its first two investments in the sports tech space. It will look to focus on early-stage opportunities, earmarking ₹8-24 crore, while reserving 40-50 per cent of the fund for follow-on investments.