Gaming
Ex-Glazer Games CEO Anand Mishra joins MetaNinza
Ahmedabad: MetaNinza, a rewards-first gaming and esports platform, has onboarded Anand Mishra as co-founder and chief of staff, signalling an ambitious push to scale its ecosystem across India and South East Asia.
Anand, a serial entrepreneur with 7+ years in consumer tech, blockchain and gaming, previously founded and led Glazer Labs, where he built Glazer Games and THRYL, a rewards-centric gamer engagement platform. Under his leadership, Glazer Games delivered 400 million+ impressions for 50+ brands, drove 10 million+ user acquisitions, executed hundreds of creator partnerships, and launched new esports IPs. THRYL amassed nearly half a million users in just two months. Anand also founded HECOD Blockchain, serving 400+ B2B clients globally and scaling to 8 million+ active users, with a $4.2 million ARR.
At MetaNinza, Anand will oversee growth, user acquisition, creator ecosystem building, tournaments and rewards distribution, and ensure alignment between product, tech, marketing and operations. His blockchain expertise is expected to strengthen secure, fair and anti-abuse reward systems across the platform.
“MetaNinza is building something truly differentiated by combining competitive esports, rewards-first daily engagement and community-led growth. What drew me most was their clarity of vision: to go beyond tournaments and build a full participation ecosystem where gamers engage meaningfully every day and are rewarded fairly,” said Anand Mishra.
The appointment comes as MetaNinza strengthens its platform foundations and expands its offerings, including tournaments, scrims, quests, coin wallets, offerwalls and anti-abuse frameworks. The company has also launched 16score.com, a global esports news platform aimed at boosting organic community growth. MetaNinza currently serves India-first users but plans to scale across South East Asia, targeting 600 million gaming enthusiasts in the region over the next three years.
“Anand brings a rare combination of ecosystem insight and execution discipline. His experience in building scalable gaming platforms is exactly what we need as MetaNinza enters its next growth phase,” said Sudhansu Sinha, founder and CEO of MetaNinza.
MetaNinza is positioning itself as a full-stack, community-first esports brand, combining competitive tournaments, teams, technology, content and social engagement into one end-to-end platform.
Gaming is no longer just play. With Anand on board, MetaNinza is turning competition, rewards and community into a high-speed growth engine.
Gaming
IICT signs three MoUs to boost AVGC-XR and esports
Partnerships with Zenfluencers, Yologram and Eruditio at Chennai Gaming Show 2026 strengthen education, XR innovation and nationwide talent outreach.
MUMBAI: IICT has just levelled up the game in a big way. The Indian Institute of Creative Technologies signed three strategic Memorandums of Understanding on 17 April 2026 at the CII Summit FX – India Gaming Show in Chennai, forging alliances with The Zenfluencers, Yologram Style Pvt. Ltd. and Eruditio Consultants to accelerate India’s AVGC-XR ecosystem.
The tie-ups combine IICT’s strengths in education, skilling and research with specialist expertise across esports, immersive technologies and large-scale outreach.
- With The Zenfluencers, IICT will roll out globally benchmarked esports programmes, including joint certification courses, industry workshops, tournaments and masterclasses, creating clear career pathways across the full esports value chain.
- The partnership with Yologram Style Pvt. Ltd. focuses on gaming, immersive storytelling and extended reality (XR), delivering industry-aligned curriculum, faculty mentorship, student showcases and collaborative research in immersive AI and virtual production.
- Collaboration with Eruditio Consultants targets awareness, accessibility and career alignment, with nationwide counsellor training, institutional engagement and structured guidance frameworks to reach students beyond Tier-1 cities.
IICT CEO Vishwas Deoskar said, “As the AVGC-XR sector evolves at a rapid pace, strong collaborations between industry and academia are essential. These partnerships will create meaningful impact across education, innovation and outreach.”
Yologram Style Pvt. Ltd. founder Aditya Mani added, “AI-driven creator worlds are transforming games into engines of culture, commerce and careers. Together we aim to empower a generation to build immersive futures.”
Eruditio Consultants founder Indrajit Ghosh noted, “This is not just about awareness, it is about building a structured ecosystem that connects aspiration with opportunity.”
The Zenfluencers CEO Atharva Gupta said, “This MoU is a big unlock moment for the esports ecosystem in India. We’re building a structured pipeline for talent across the full stack.”
By bringing together academia, industry leaders and ecosystem players, IICT is creating scalable models that blend cutting-edge skills with real-world relevance. In a sector racing toward the future, these three partnerships ensure India’s next generation of creative technologists won’t just keep up, they’ll set the pace.
