Gaming
Winzo levels up, takes India’s gaming power play to the US market
MUMBAI: From Delhi to Dallas, Winzo has just hit its biggest checkpoint yet. India’s largest homegrown digital entertainment platform has officially launched in the United States, levelling up its ambition to export desi gaming tech, IP, and talent to global arenas. The move marks Winzo’s entry into the world’s largest gaming market by revenue, hot on the heels of its Brazilian foray in 2023. That places the company squarely at the crossroads of three of the planet’s top four mobile gaming markets India, Brazil and the US together worth an estimated 65–70 billion dollars with over 20 billion annual game downloads.
With a 250 million-strong user base back home, Winzo’s ecosystem already spans 100 plus competitive games across esports and social formats in 15 languages, backed by more than 100 tech patents. Among them: its Real-Time Game Engine, GenAI-powered vernacular companion, live streaming stack, one-click integration tech and AI-driven cybersecurity solutions.
The platform also brings financial muscle via its 50 million dollars Zo Fund, fuelling early-stage tech ventures and creating a pipeline of Indian innovation for global markets. Alongside gaming, Winzo is rolling out Zo TV, its new short-video format, aiming to be a one-stop hub for interactive entertainment.
“This is a proud milestone for India’s digital entertainment ecosystem,” said co-founders Saumya Singh Rathore and Paavan Nanda, noting that the expansion represents “Tech Exports 2.0” where Indian developers can finally take culturally resonant games and esports to the most lucrative gaming market in the world.
While Winzo continues to expand abroad, it is also doubling down on its Indian audience, even as it responsibly rolls back select offerings impacted by regulatory shifts. For the company, the US debut isn’t just a market entry, it’s a statement that India’s gaming story is no longer just local, but truly global.
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.
