Krafton-backed 🇮🇳 game streaming firm raises $42m

India-based Loco, a streaming platform for video games, has raised 3.3 billion rupees (US$42 million) in a series A funding round led by Hashed.

Other investors that participated in the round include Krafton – the South Korean game developer behind PUBG – as well as Makers Fund, Catamaran Ventures, and Korea Investment Partners.

Photo credit: Loco

Loco has onboarded popular Indian streamers like Sc0ut, Mavi, Jonathan, Villager Esports, and more onto its platform. The company says it has built communities across games such as Battlegrounds Mobile India, Call of Duty Mobile, Clash of Clans, and Grand Theft Auto.

Since January 2021, the company’s daily active viewers have experienced a 15x growth. The firm also saw an 8x jump in monthly active viewers, a 5x increase in active streamers, and a 78x surge in live watch hours over the same period.

The streaming platform is run by Anirudh Pandita and Ashwin Suresh, co-founders of Pocket Aces, a digital studio that creates streaming content. Pocket Aces acquired Loco, which was then known as Showtime App, in 2018.

Loco plans to use the fresh capital to invest in the development of the Indian gaming ecosystem and cement its position in the streaming space.

“We believe this new investment round will enable Loco to solidify its dominant position in game streaming and eventually provide the Indian gaming community with cutting-edge Web3 products and services,” Ethan Kim, co-founder and partner at Hashed, said in a statement.

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Before this round, Loco raised US$9 million in a seed round that also saw participation from Krafton.

Other investors in Loco’s series A round include:

• Lumikai
• Hiro Capital

Currency converted from Indian rupees to US dollar: US$1 = 76.32 rupees.