MobidictumBITKRAFT Ventures, a seed-stage interactive media investor, announced that games industry veteran Anuj Tandon has joined the firm as a Partner.
Tandon brings nearly 15 years of experience as a gaming entrepreneur, executive, and investor in India to BITKRAFT’s team, establishing the venture capital firm’s footprint in the region.
India’s online gaming market is one of the fastest growing in the world as per the latest report from PwC, projecting to grow at 14.5% between 2023 and 2028, nearly double gaming’s global growth. Tandon’s expansive network in India gives BITKRAFT a strategic opening into this rapidly expanding market.
As a BITKRAFT Partner, Tandon will seek to invest in innovative Indian gaming and interactive media companies, with a particular focus on AI, games tech, and content—making the interactive media VC firm one of the first global early-stage investment platforms in the country.
Tandon’s experience includes successfully leading KRAFTON’s investments in India and MENA, bringing the billion-dollar entertainment brand YOOZOO Games to the region, and more. Before joining BITKRAFT, Tandon was the CEO of Gaming at JetSynthesys, India’s leading digital conglomerate where he managed all their gaming assets.
India has been a software development powerhouse for quite some time already, with a deep pool of technical talent. The Creative and Entertainment industry has been picking up visibly over the last decade and the Indian gaming industry revenues are projected to double, reaching $7.94 billion USD by 2028 (Source: PwC).
A second generation of game entrepreneurs is forming and will set out to build internationally successful companies. With Tandon’s expertise, BITKRAFT believes it will be equipped to support the country’s innovative companies and provide the resources it needs to achieve its goals on a global scale.
Tandon’s presentation at the 2024 BITKRAFT Summit where he discusses the Indian market and the opportunities it presents:
“India’s economy is seeing explosive growth with a growing middle class that has disposable income, making it competitively positioned globally to grow in gaming & interactive media.
I am honored to have the opportunity to bring one of the biggest global gaming investors to India to support innovative entrepreneurs in their early stages. BITKRAFT’s global network and experience are extensive and will immensely help the budding ecosystem.”
Anuj Tandon, Partner at BITKRAFT Ventures
“We have made several investments in India already, but our ambition is to increase our activity and capital deployment in the country visibly going forward. This is where Anuj’s experience and network in the Indian games and entertainment industry is crucial to us and our ability to identify and partner with the most outstanding entrepreneurs in India.
It is more than just having a person on the ground; it is the deep understanding of the market, the actors, the local preferences and dynamics from people to design and product to financing.”
BITKRAFT Founding General Partner, Jens Hilgers
Anuj Tandon’s experience
Anuj Tandon has a vast range of industry experience: notably he was the Head of Corporate Development & Investment for India and MENA regions for KRAFTON Inc—the publicly listed Korean Gaming company known for PUBG. At KRAFTON, he built the company’s India and MENA strategy, investing more than $135 Million in high growth startups such as FRND, Nautilus Mobile, Nodwin, KukuFM and more, in less than two years.
Before KRAFTON, Tandon was the CEO of Shanghai based Yoozoo Games’ Indian office. Tandon helped set up and grow the game publishing business for Nazara, India’s first publicly-listed gaming company, and before that, he was co-founder of award-winning gaming startup Rolocule Games, which was later acquired by Dream11.
Alongside his accomplishments, Tandon has mentored many Indian startup studios and helped build the country’s gaming ecosystem. Tandon is also experienced in overseeing mergers and acquisitions for Indian and MENA game studios.
Future goals for BITKRAFT Ventures
BITKRAFT Ventures strategically invests in companies that are redefining games and interactive entertainment while setting out to pioneer frontier technologies such as AI and Web3. BITKRAFT’s investment portfolio reaches over 130 companies around the world, including promising startups like Party Icons, Volley, StockGro, Inworld AI, and Cartridge Gaming Company.
BITKRAFT’s Founding General Partner, Jens Hilgers, was recently granted a Lifetime Achievement award at the 2024 Esports Awards for his contributions to gaming and esports entrepreneurship.