9stacks raises Rs. 10 cr funding towards product, workforce expansion

Virtual skill-based gaming startup 9stacks on Tuesday announced the close of more than Rs. 10 crore in angel funding (Pre-Series A), to be used to scale tech, product and design team, ramp up online poker customer base in India, and evaluate new geographies and other real money skill-based gaming categories.

9stacks currently offers online real-money poker to customers in 24 Indian states, who can access its modern and secure poker platform on 9stacks, and on iOS, Android, MacOS and Windows native apps.

9stacks will utilise the funding to accelerate its product and technology development as well as scale to other geographies and other categories within the real money online gaming space.

The company is also significantly investing in producing its own poker-specific content to help users develop their poker skills and connect with other poker players.

"With the backing of our angel investors, we want to make 9stacks the first choice for new users to play poker, with the most user-friendly interface, quickest pay-ins and pay-outs through seamless integration with payment gateways or bank accounts, and clear policies on tax deduction for a safe and hassle-free playing experience," said CEO and co-founder 9stacks, Sudhir Kamath.

The real-money skill-based gaming segment includes companies offering rummy, poker and fantasy league contests.

Angel Investors for this round include Swati Gupta (founder, IndustryBuying), Maheshwer Peri (founder, Careers360), Sanjay Singh (founder, Swas Healthcare), Kartik Sheth (chief innovation officer Airtel and CEO, Wynk), and Shubhajit Sen (ex-CMO, Micromax).

The round also saw participation from a number of VC and PE investors in their personal capacities.