IDG Ventures India Invests in Kreeda Games
IDG Ventures India and SoftBank's Bodhi Investment LLC, managed by SoftBank China & India Holdings announced their joint Series A investment in Kreeda Games, India's online multiplayer games company. This investment marks a key milestone for the Indian online games industry both IDG and SoftBank are considered domain experts in online games in emerging markets having previously invested in market leaders such as IDG's Vinagames in Vietnam. As part of the investment, Manik Arora from IDG Ventures India and Anil Viakara from SoftBank's Bodhi will join the company's Board of Directors. Kreeda's founding management team comprises of seasoned digital media professionals from around the world that bring together experience from the fields of animation, technology and online game operations. CEO Quentin Staes-Polet, who was previously IBM's Media and Entertainment Practice Leader for Asia Pacific, leads the company. Other core team members include Chief Games Officer Ramesh Anumukonda, an early pioneer in game production and animation in India, and Chief Technology Officer Robin Alter, a digital media technology architecture expert from the US.
Online multiplayer games are played on the Internet simultaneously by thousands of people in virtual worlds. The market for these games is over US $4 billion globally and growing at a rapid pace. In India, the market is nascent with only a few companies today targeting a US $5 million market, but is expected to grow to US $210 million by 2010, according to NASSCOM. Kreeda's initial approach is to license successful game titles from around the world and bring them to India. The international games will be localized to appeal to the unique tastes of Indian game players employing local audio, video and cultural elements.
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