Ahead of the Indian Premier League, fantasy gaming platform Dream11 is in talks for another round of funding. The Mumbai-based firm has been a hot property among investors and leading private equity firms such as TPG, Chrys Capital, Advent and Lupa Systems are reported to have shown interest in the platform.

According to a report in the Economic Times, TPG will be using its Tech Adjacencies Fund while Advent’s International arm Sunley House Capital Management will be providing them with the revenue for the funding. 

Concurrently, Dream11’s current investors are also expected to double down on their funding into the company. 

Chinese internet giant Tencent invested USD 100 million in Dream11 in 2018 and now plans to double that amount.

The new round of funding would approximately be in the range of USD 150-200 million and could take the company valuation to beyond USD 2.25 billion. 

Reports suggest that the funding round will mainly be a secondary sale of shares, leading to the exit of Vani Kola-led Kalaari Capital, Multiples Alternate Asset Management and San Francisco-based Think Investments.

The success of Dream11 in the rapidly-growing fantasy sports market is evident by its reported revenue of Rs 800 crores in the last financial year, going up from around Rs 250 crores the previous year. 

Founded by Harsh Jain and Bhavit Seth in 2008, the platform grew from two million in 2016 to 50 million in 2019 and currently has over 80 million users on its pay-to-play platform. It was also the first Indian gaming company to attain unicorn status when its valuation went past USD 1 billion in 2019.

Dream11 is the official fantasy partner for the Board of Control of Cricket in India (BCCI), Indian Premier League (IPL), and Indian Super League (ISL).

Apart from cricket and football, the Mumbai-based fantasy platform also features kabaddi, hockey, basketball, volleyball, and baseball - catering to a wide target audience.