Gaming
Startup Mahakumbh panel unravels growth of Indian gaming
New Delhi: India’s gaming industry has hit the jackpot while the rest of the world seems to be playing on easy mode. At this week’s Startup Mahakumbh, the crème de la crème of India’s digital entertainment world gathered to spill the beans on what’s turning the country into a gaming colossus.
The star-studded panel—featuring Bookmyshow fonder & CEO Ashish Hemrajani, Games24/7, founder & CEO Bhavin Pandya, Dream11 cofounder & CEO Harsh Jain and Bitkraft partner Anuj Tandon—didn’t mince words about the sector’s explosive trajectory. The discussion, masterfully refereed by JetSynthesys founder & CEO Rajan Navani, revealed that while global gaming revenues have hit pause, India’s gaming scene is charging ahead at a blistering 20 per cent annual clip.
“The gaming and digital entertainment industry in India is at an inflection point,” declared Navani. “With the right mix of innovation, investment, and responsible regulation, India can become a global powerhouse.” No small talk there.
The once-questioned spending power of Indian gamers has been dramatically upended by UPI and one-click payment solutions. In-app purchases alone are projected to rake in a whopping $4.3 billion within four years—enough to make even the most hardened venture capitalist’s mouth water.
The gold rush hasn’t gone unnoticed across borders. Executives from gaming giants Sega and Tencent were spotted prowling the event, eyeing up the burgeoning market with barely disguised avarice.
A separate session on investment strategies laid bare the brutal realities facing founders. Investors confessed to maintaining watchlists of 200-300 promising entrepreneurs, tracking them well before products even see the light of day. Common pitfalls for startups include the seductive but dangerous trap of over-raising at sky-high valuations and the cardinal sin of delaying monetisation.
“Early revenue generation isn’t just nice to have—it’s essential,” one panelist quipped, cutting through the typical startup waffle like a hot knife through butter.
Government initiatives like Startup India are hailed as crucial catalysts, while investors stressed that the days of chasing unicorn status at all costs are well and truly over. The new mantra? Sustainable business models that actually turn a profit—revolutionary concept, that.
The second edition of Startup Mahakumbh follows last year’s blinding success, which saw over 48,581 visitors and 1,306 exhibitors descend upon the event like bees to honey.
As India’s gaming ecosystem continues its meteoric rise, one thing is crystal clear: in the digital playground of entertainment, India is no longer merely a player—it’s becoming the house. And as any gambler worth their salt knows, the house always wins.
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.
