Metaverse gaming platform AvatarLife raises $1.5 million from Info Edge Ventures, others

The startup said that it plans to use the capital for product research and development, community building and to expand its global team.

Founded last year by Sushant Chandrasekar and Gaurav Gupta, AvatarLife offers single-player, multi-player and play-to-earn skill-based games in its virtual world. It also allows other creators to develop and operate games on its platform.

“We are transitioning from a 2D internet living on our screens to a 3D space present inside our screens. This will require new ways of thinking about the user experience and ultimately, product development. We will continue to invest in building the technology and developing capabilities in-house,” Gupta said.

The company, which is developing mobile-based 3D products targeted at Indian users, has created the virtual world AvatarLife, which is a platform that offers more than 25 games across three operators.

“We believe the next iteration of the internet will be more visual, bringing together games and socialisation. This will require deep design and technological capabilities. AvatarLife’s founding team has the right set of skills and experience to innovate in this arena,” said Chinmaya Sharma, partner, Info Edge Ventures.

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The gaming sector in India has raised $2.8 billion from domestic and global investors in the last five years, according to data from national investment promotion agency Invest India. Funding in the sector has risen nearly five-fold from 2019, according to the agency. The segment has also seen a number of Web3 and metaverse-focused gaming platforms mushroom over the years. In February, Web3 gaming startup Kratos Studios — cofounded by former Nazara Technologies CEO Manish Agarwal — raised Rs 160 crore (or around $20 million) in its seed round, which was led by Accel Partners, with participation from Prosus Ventures, Courtside Ventures, Nexus Venture Partners, Nazara Technologies and others.