iWorld
Snapchat unveils lens creator rewards in India
Mumbai: Snap Inc. is introducing Lens Creator Rewards, a new way for Snap AR creators, developers, and teams to be rewarded for building top-performing Lenses on Snapchat. India is amongst the top five markets where lenses from Lens Creators achieve the most community engagement.
This program is designed to celebrate the most creative Lenses that help Snapchatters express themselves and have fun with friends – from imaginative new looks to try on to amazing AR scenes they can explore.
Every month, a Lens Creator could be awarded up to $7,200 if they have the top-performing Lens in India, the United States and Mexico. The program is open to new and current Lens Studio community members from nearly 40 countries including India. To participate, AR creators should build Lenses and can check more details on eligibility here: Lens Creator Rewards Terms. In India, Snapchat continues to witness a remarkable emergence of AR creators from various parts of the country, constantly adding to the vibrancy of the platform’s AR community.
Snap AR ambassador and creator Pradeepa Anandhi expressed her enthusiasm, stating “The Lens Creator Rewards program presents an exceptional opportunity for AR creators to receive the recognition and rewards they truly deserve for their creative contributions. The program’s monthly cash prizes serve as a powerful motivation, inspiring both established and aspiring AR creators to push the boundaries of their imagination and offer a truly unique and immersive experience for Snapchatters. As an AR creator myself, I am eagerly looking forward to participating in this program and contributing to our vibrant AR community on Snapchat.”
“Snapchatters love Lenses built by our global AR community of more than 300,000 AR creators, developers, and teams around the world. At Snap, we’re committed to rewarding the value that AR creators bring to the platform as they advance their skills and grow their businesses through the new Lens Creator Rewards Program” said Global head of AR developer relations at Snap Inc Joseph Darko.
Over the past five years, Snap has enabled our AR community to build Lenses for brands and partners, experiment with creating Lenses with digital goods, and explore the future of AR today through our GHOST Innovation Lab and our Spectacles creator program. Today, we’re thrilled to offer a new way for AR creators to unleash new creative possibilities and grow their businesses.
With the incredible scale of AR creation and deep engagement from Snapchatters, Snap Inc. is committed to supporting AR creators as they advance their skills and grow their businesses by empowering and rewarding creativity.
Gaming
MTG gaming chief Benninghoff joins NODWIN board as esports firm primes for IPO
The Gurugram-based esports firm is pursuing a public listing, has returned to profitability and is growing revenues by 42 per cent
GURUGRAM: NODWIN Gaming is moving fast. The Gurugram-based gaming and esports company has launched a pre-IPO fundraising round, appointed UBS as lead adviser for both the round and a subsequent public listing, and landed a heavyweight board director, all in one go.
The new board member is Arnd Benninghoff, executive vice president of gaming at Stockholm-listed Modern Times Group (MTG), who has overseen the group’s strategic investments and portfolio growth since 2014. He is no stranger to building things: Benninghoff has founded and built fifteen companies, served as chief digital officer at ProSiebenSat.1 Media AG, managing director of SevenVentures, and chief executive of Holtzbrinck eLAB. He began his career as a journalist at Deutsche Presse Agentur and various TV networks, holds a Diplom-Kaufmann in business and administration from the University of Münster, and previously sat on the board of Edgeware AB.
The numbers back the ambition
NODWIN is not pitching a story without substance. The company has returned to EBITDA profitability and posted a 42 per cent year-on-year revenue surge, reaching $58.5m in the first nine months of FY2026. The pre-IPO round will combine a primary issuance to fund global expansion through organic growth and acquisitions, alongside a secondary sale to give existing shareholders some liquidity.
Akshat Rathee, co-founder and managing director of NODWIN Gaming, said Benninghoff understands “the entire lifecycle of the gaming and media ecosystem, from the boots-on-the-ground reality of building startups to the strategic complexity of managing multi-billion dollar global portfolios.”
Benninghoff, for his part, said the company “sits at the intersection of sports, entertainment, and technology, making it one of the most exciting players in the global gaming landscape today.”
A portfolio built for the global south
Founded in 2014 by Rathee and Gautam Virk, NODWIN has quietly assembled one of the more compelling esports portfolios outside the Western hemisphere. Its properties include DreamHack India and Comic Con India, and it recently acquired StarLadder, the Ukraine-based tournament organiser behind premier events in CS:GO and Dota 2. The company also serves as a long-term strategic marketing partner for the Evolution Championship Series (EVO), the world’s most prominent fighting game tournament, helping push it into new geographies.
Its geographic focus spans South Asia, Central Asia, Southeast Asia, the Middle East and Africa. Backers include Nazara Technologies, KRAFTON, Sony Group Corporation, JetSynthesys, and the founders’ investment vehicle Good Game Investments.
What comes next
With UBS running the books, a board freshly reinforced with European media and gaming expertise, and revenue heading in the right direction, NODWIN is laying the groundwork deliberately. The esports industry has burned investors before with big promises and thin margins. NODWIN’s return to profitability, combined with a real portfolio of owned intellectual properties across gaming, music and youth culture, gives it a more credible runway than most. The IPO clock is now ticking.
