Real sports gaming platform Game Theory has received funding from several prominent figures. This includes Padma Bhushan awardee and former India No. 1 badminton player Pullela Gopichand, former world squash No. 10 Saurav Ghosal, and Khel Ratna Awardee and current India No. 1 table tennis player Sharath Kamal. The exact amount of funding remains undisclosed.
“The funding will primarily be used to develop the technology for our programming infrastructure, enabling us to deliver high-quality coaching programs effectively,” founder Sudeep Kulkarni said.
Based in Bengaluru, Game Theory helps people who regularly play physical sports connect with skilled players and organize games.
Kulkarni added that the badminton and swimming programs are seeing the most interest.
“We are planning to expand city-wise across India fairly quickly within the next year,” he said. The company has 15 venues in Bengaluru, with five more expected to open soon.
“A big portion of our users are kids who we want to train at a very consistent level at the grassroots, and we want to fortify the idea that sports education needs to be delivered. Technology will aid in identifying different tenets and provide consistent feedback to parents on an ongoing basis, which will drive more interest towards the sports cell when visible progress is established,” Kulkarni added.
Commenting on the investment, Gopichand, the chief national coach for the Indian badminton team, said, “Our country has seen significant growth in badminton over the last few years, with aspirants from across all economic strata wanting to participate in the sport. To generate a large talent pool for the future, a strong grassroots program is a necessity. By investing in this venture, I hope to contribute to building a robust sports ecosystem that nurtures talent from the grassroots level.”
In October 2023, Game Theory secured $2 million in funding. This investment came from Rainmatter (a startup accelerator fund initiated by Nithin Kamath’s Zerodha), Indian tennis player Rohan Bopanna, WEH Ventures, Prequate Advisory, and angel investors like Balakrishna Adiga.
