iWorld
Kinsane to launch a digital-first kids’ entertainment company
MUMBAI: Kinsane Entertainment Inc (Kinsane) is ready to storm the kids’ entertainment space globally. A digital-first company, Kinsane will create content for kids aged 2-11 years in numerous languages and distribute that content globally through a variety of advertising, subscription and transaction-based revenue models. It is a global digital entertainment company, co-founded by Kurt Inderbitzin, Indrani Pillai and Saahil Bhargava and angel funded by Neeraj Bhargava and other investors.
Backed by Bhargava as chief mentor, the company has raised USD 2.5 million from angel investors to launch eight new shows, 100 games and 30 new characters in 2018.
Bhargava, a serial entrepreneur and one of the several prominent angel investors that seeded the company, said “We are seeing major disruptions globally in the digital media space. Television viewing is gradually declining and content consumption is being revolutionised. According to a parent survey conducted by DHX/IPSOS, 72 per cent of kids across the US, the UK, and Canada watch content on streaming services such as YouTube and Netflix. The digitisation of content has made content consumption global and omnipresent. The next leader in content will almost certainly be born digital and Kinsane aspires to be the game changer in the kids’ content space.”
Kinsane’s strategy is to create a wide variety of videos and games featuring endearing and original characters that become global, iconic brands. The goal is to take these brands, established in the digital space, and propagate them further through non-digital channels such as film, television, concerts and merchandising. Kinsane plans to launch over 8 new shows and 100 games featuring 30 new and compelling characters over the next 12 months. The core target markets for this content are the US, Europe, India, Brazil, and China.
Kurt Inderbitzin, co-founder and CEO of Kinsane, said, “We create content featuring characters that live and breathe and have personalities as rich and diverse as the very kids who are watching them. Kids can view these amazing characters, laugh and sing with them and even interact with them in games, live action, and animated shows, augmented reality and audio books.”
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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.
