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It’s often in adversity that we find what makes or breaks us. For me, that adversity sometimes appears in unexpected ways – like struggling to crack open a brand-new jar of peanut butter this morning and feeling bemusingly frustrated about it. Singapore telecoms company Singtel has endured a host of challenges after a history of failed startup acquisitions and ventures, but it’s remained relatively undeterred. Its latest foray is in the gaming world, which is hardly a stab in the dark.
Today we look at,
- Singtel’s bold moves into its latest gaming joint venture
- The sharia fintech platform that’s banked US$20 million
- Other newsy highlights such as troubles for India’s instant loan apps and a SoftBank-backed investment app’s fresh backing
PREMIUM SUMMARY
After several failed ventures, Singtel is ready to take on the gaming world
Singapore’s largest telco, Singtel, appears unfazed. Despite its failed startup acquisitions and ventures – most notably the downfall of video-streaming platform Hooq – the company is pressing on. Its latest foray is Storms, a gaming joint venture with Thailand’s AIS and South Korea’s SK Telecom. Each partner will contribute an equal share to an initial investment of US$22.5 million.
- Power to the people: Around 80% to 90% of the Storms team are gaming industry veterans – former employees of Ubisoft, EA Games, Riot Games, and Tencent. And because Singtel, AIS, and SK Telecom will own only a significant minority share in the business, this gives Storms the autonomy to operate without being bogged down by top-down bureaucracy, which a former Hooq employee cited in a separate interview as the reason for the platform’s failure. Last year, Storms exceeded its revenue and EBITA targets.
- Keeping things casual: Sea Group dominates the region as one of the top publishers of hardcore games, which is why Storms is looking to fill the gaps for casual and hyper-casual games. Its main competitors in this segment include France-based Voodoo and California-based Lion Studios, though they may lack the local expertise or market insights that Storms believes it has.
- Everybody play the game: At present, Storms has 150 in-house and third-party games, and is currently in talks with two white-label platforms to place its games on super apps outside of the Singtel group. The gaming firm’s end goal: a Storms app through which a mobile-based community can be built for gaming news and rewards. It’s slated to be published late this year.
Read more: Singtel’s bold move to storm the gaming world
STARTUP SPOTLIGHT
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