Startup
MPL parent M-League’s revenue rises 22% to $130M in FY24
Skill-gaming platform Mobile Premier League (MPL) parent company M-League’s revenue climbed 22% to $130 million in FY24.
According to a statement, MPL India’s revenue surged by over 35% to $88 million in FY24. It said that its Gross Gaming Revenue (GGR) and cash-paying monthly active users have both increased by 60%.
The company also achieved breakeven with an Adjusted EBITDA of $0.2 million, marking a sharp improvement from the previous year’s negative $44.7 million.
M-League attributes this turnaround to cost-cutting measures and operational efficiency, particularly at MPL, one of its key platforms. “We focused on innovation, streamlined processes to reduce costs, and accelerated time to market for new games,” the company said in the statement.
Employee benefit expenses shrunk by 33.03% to $36.9 million in FY24 from $55.1 million in FY23. Other expenses remained stable at $92.8 million compared to $93.2 million in FY23.
M-League also highlighted the success of its European subsidiary GameDuell, which experienced 50% revenue growth since its acquisition in 2022. The company has shifted GameDuell’s focus toward Free-to-Play (F2P) games, with 70% of its revenue now coming from this model.
“Our success with GameDuell has strengthened our confidence in the Free-to-Play model. We believe that F2P represents the next big opportunity. The F2P market in India is on the same level that skill gaming was in 2018 when MPL started,” it added.
MPL was founded in 2018 by Sai Srinivas Kiran and Shubham Malhotra and turned unicorn in 2021 after a funding round led by Legatum Capital, a UAE-based investment firm, at a valuation of $2.3 billion. Investors Peak XV (then Sequoia Capital) and RTP Global are also on the company’s cap table.
Startup
Magenta Mobility’s FY24 revenue rises three fold, losses widen by 17.1%
Magenta Mobility on Thursday reported a 199.5% jump in its full-year revenue to Rs 35.53 crore compared to Rs 11.86 crore in the previous year helped by a significant rise in its revenue from services.
The company provides a 100% electric fleet and AI and IoT-enabled fleet management and data analytics platform to optimise logistics operations and deliveries. Revenue from these services for the year ended March 31, 2024, increased to Rs 30.17 crore compared to Rs 10.15 crore in FY23.
However, the company reported a 17.1% increase in its loss for the period to Rs 46.44 crore as opposed to Rs 39.66 crore in FY23, bogged down by rising expenses during the year. The 109.1% rise in expenses to Rs 90.17 crore was primarily due to rising driver costs, employee benefit expenses, and finance costs.
Magenta Mobility appoints drivers on a contract basis to provide services to its customers, which it accounts as an expense. The drivers’ cost for FY24 increased to Rs 18.49 crore, compared to Rs 6.34 crore in FY23.
The rise in demand for the company’s fleet comes amidst a boom in the last-mile delivery sector in India owing to the rise of ecommerce and quick commerce players. Magenta Mobility caters to clients such as Flipkart and hyper-local delivery platform Dunzo, among others.
Founded in 2017 by Maxson Lewis and Darryl Dias, the company last raised $22 million in a Series A funding round from BP Venture and Morgan Stanley India Infrastructure-managed investment fund.
Startup
Juspay cuts losses by 7.7% as revenue surges 49.6% in FY24
Payments startup Juspay Technologies saw its losses narrowing in FY24 as revenue growth outpaced expenditure. It narrowed its total loss for the period to Rs 97.54 crore, down 7.76% from Rs 105.75 crore in FY23.
According to the consolidated financial statements accessed from the Registrar of Companies, the SoftBank-backed fintech firm’s revenue from operations surged 49.64% to Rs 319.32 crore, up from Rs 213.39 crore in FY23.
Juspay’s primary revenue source—payment platform integration fees—brought in Rs 286.52 crore. Additional operating revenue from services like product implementation and support added Rs 32.80 crore.
Total expenses rose by 29.52% to Rs 443.74 crore in FY24, compared to Rs 342.59 crore in the previous year. This increase was largely driven by employee benefit expenses, which saw a 41.73% jump to Rs 303.36 crore, while other expenses increased slightly over 3.56% to Rs 123.76 crore.
Juspay, founded in 2012 by Vimal Kumar and Ramanathan RV in Bengaluru, specialises in developing payment orchestration solutions that act as a technology layer over traditional payment gateways.
The Accel-backed startup has also developed Namma Yatri, a mobility app focusing on ride-hailing services, leveraging Juspay’s strengths in payments and open-source protocols. Namma Yatri is built on the Beckn Protocol and aligns with the Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC), aiming to provide low-cost ride-hailing options and open access to digital mobility services.
Recently, Juspay decided to spin off Namma Yatri as an independent entity to attract separate investors and scale further. In February, the company said it acquired LotusPay in an all-cash deal to strengthen its offerings to the BFSI segment and merchants.
LotusPay, founded in 2016, pioneered NACH Debit technology with cloud-based software for merchants and banks. Using NPCI’s NACH Debit, it facilitates recurring payments for loans, insurance, and subscriptions.
Startup
Flipkart selects five startups for third cohort of Flipkart Leap Innovation Network
Flipkart Leap Innovation Network (FLIN).
has selected five innovative startups for the third cohort of its flagship startup accelerator programme,The cohort is introducing startups that are driving advancements across GenAI, omnichannel, analytics, and video commerce, the company said in a statement.
The selected startups— Intelligence Node, Invenzo Labs, StoryBrain, Phyllo, and D-ID— are set to run pilot programs with Flipkart to develop solutions.
“The selected startups get access to mentorship, resources, and the opportunity to execute pilot projects within the Flipkart ecosystem, scaling their solutions to meet the demands of India’s digital economy and e-commerce growth,” the company said.
Since its launch in 2022, the accelerator programme aims to accelerate the growth of the startup ecosystem in India, driving collaboration, and championing cutting-edge retail innovations.
“Through the FLIN programme, Flipkart continues to expand its role as a catalyst for innovation within India’s startup ecosystem, providing a collaborative platform for startups to test, refine, and deploy solutions that can shape the future of e-commerce in India,” said Naren Ravula, Vice President and Head – Product Strategy and Flipkart Labs.
The programme is designed to engage with startups through commercial partnerships in Flipkart’s areas of interest. Successful startups get the opportunity to scale up to a business partnership.
Over 20 startups from the initial two cohorts have concluded pilots working closely with the Flipkart Product and Engineering teams.
The company added that four startups from the previous cohort— Anagog, Speedsize, Sangti, and Vtion— have recently concluded successful pilot projects with Flipkart.
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