Newgen gaming raised $1 million to continue operating the Penta Esports brand. This is the first round of funding for Newgen Gaming.
The company was founded in 2021 by industry veterans Anurag Khurana, Kiran Noojibail, Akshay Paul and Krishanu Ghosal. The esports brand, Penta Esports, specializes in multiple verticals, including leagues, tournaments, and content.
With a focus on India’s grassroots esports ecosystem, the brand offers opportunities to esports athletes across a variety of titles and platforms. NCore Games led the round.
“We started Newgen Gaming with the aim of democratizing gaming and esports in India,” said Anurag Khurana, CEO of Newgen Gaming, in a statement. “We will scale quickly and provide more opportunities to the players and experiences to the viewers across the region. We’re thrilled to have picked up this round from nCore Games. Vishal and I always shared a vision to grow the gaming industry. This partnership will be our first big step together.”
Since its inception, Penta Esports has launched its grassroots-focused league, the Penta Amateur League and the Penta Collegiate League for colleges and universities, in addition to other tournament IPs such as the Penta Invitational, Penta Cup, and Penta Challenge.
The company’s newest property, the Penta Pro Series, was an official Valorant Off Season event, featuring the best teams from all regions. Moreover, the brand also has multiple content IPs and plans to launch more.
Newgen Gaming will use the money to accelerate the growth of the company’s offerings and expand its team and operations in South Asia and MENA regions.
NCore Games (which spells the company nCore) is an Indian mobile games company and has also invested in Studio NCore, IceSpice and Dot9 Games. The company’s investors include Galaxy Interactive and Animoca Brands.
This investment will give NCore Games access to a strong network of esports athletes and fans, as well as unique and strong intellectual properties, such as Esports in 5, 1v1, Koffee with Kiran and more. Penta Esports will be able to benefit from its strong growth and momentum with this capital injection.
“This strategic investment marks our foray into esports and we are pleased to have Newgen Gaming, an established leader in that segment, as our partner,” said Kaval Bombra, CEO of NCore Global, in a statement. “We believe the team’s collective experience and vision is poised for massive growth and provides the right synergy for NCore as it works to establish a comprehensive gaming ecosystem.”
“As we set out to build a full-stack gaming ecosystem, we believe Newgen Gaming will be an integral part,” NCore Games co-founder Vishal Gondal said in a statement. “Esports event management and fan engagement will become key growth drivers for the industry, and we look forward to leveraging Newgen Gaming’s expertise in this area as we build out India’s No. 1 gaming platform.”
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