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<ul><li>In an interview with Business Insider, co-founder of <keyword id="7087972" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="mobile-premier-league">Mobile Premier League</keyword> Sai Srinivas Kiran G. talks about how they raked up 20 million users in just 7 months. </li><li>The platform has raised a series A funding from <keyword id="563136" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Sequoia-India">Sequoia India</keyword>, Times Internet, and GoVentures, along with participation from existing investors. </li><li><keyword id="6354486" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="virat-kohli">Virat Kohli</keyword> is the brand ambassador of the platform.</li></ul>Mobile Premier League, the <keyword id="3351303" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Gaming-startup">gaming startup</keyword>, has raised a series A funding of $35.5 million led by Sequoia India, Times Internet, and GoVentures. And what’s more, the just 7-month old startup also has Indian cricket team captain Virat Kohli as its brand ambassador. In August 2017, Sai Srinivas Kiran G. and Shubham Malhotra started the gaming platform when they realised three things they call the “holy trinity of the internet” – the price of data today is almost zero, the price of a device is extremely cheap and the third but the biggest factor, people now have an accessible and very convenient method for payments. “That’s when we thought why can’t we build a platform where people come together, pick a game of their choice and compete in tournaments across the country and hopefully one day, across the world. That’s how the Mobile Premier League came about,” Sai told Business Insider. MPL is a horizontal mobile eSports platform where every day about 25-30 online gaming tournaments are held. Every day for some of their tournaments, 150,000 to 300,000 are competing to win, said Sai. While MPL doesn’t develop the games themselves, it works with third-party developers and then publishes the game on the platform. “The platform today is not mature enough to be open for all developers, but the eventual goal is to make it a platform where any developer can create and then publish a game for all users,” said Sai. However, it also has a large competitor in the fantasy gaming space – Dream11, the gaming unicorn which already has MS Dhoni as its ambassador. Dream11 has over 50 million users and aims to have 100 million by the end of the<a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/dream11-is-eyeing-the-unicorn-tag-riding-on-ipl-and-cricket-world-cup-in-2019/articleshow/68458528.cms"> year.</a> And Sai, too, rightfully credits Dream11 to have built the fantasy gaming industry in India. But, the horizontal Indian online gaming industry today has over 200 million users and the numbers are expected to grow to 50 million by 2022. MPL too hopes to have a piece of that cake. “In just 7 months, we have had great traction as we already have about 25 million users,” he said. Helping them in their quest for growth, is Virat Kohli. Kohli’s appointment as a brand ambassador was strategic – to help introduce the brand to the millions of people who know and follow the cricketer. While Kohli too saw potential in the product to sign it up, Sai said “there was a little bit of luck mixed into the whole thing.” When it comes to funding, Sai and Malhotra are actually one of Sequoia’s favourites. Their previous startup was Creo, which built the streaming media dongles called Teewee, was also funded by Sequoia. Creo was acquired by Hike last year. Their current funding will help them grow faster by hiring the right talent to build out their product infrastructure and build not just an India centric product but a global one. They are currently making revenue from paid tournaments, sponsored tournaments, and advertising. However, Sai says that being so new in the gamef, their focus remains on user growth. See Also: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/mobile-premier-league-signs-virat-kohli-as-brand-ambassador/articleshow/68266803.cms">It’s Virat Kohli Vs MS Dhoni in the Indian e-gaming space</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/dream11-enters-the-unicorn-club-brings-on-board-steadview-capital/articleshow/68788418.cms">Dream11 becomes India’s first gaming unicorn</a>

This 7-month old startup has $35.5 million funding from Sequoia and Virat Kohli as its brand ambassador

<ul><li>Newly launched startup <keyword id="7750611" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="apne11">Apne11</keyword> has roped in <keyword id="1229" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Kapil-Dev">Kapil Dev</keyword> to be its brand advisor. </li><li>The Indian fantasy gaming market is a hot one right now with the ICC Cricket World Cup going on.</li><li>Startups like <keyword id="6214644" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Dream11">Dream11</keyword> and Mobile Premier League have already become established names in the sector.</li></ul>As the fantasy gaming industry in India grows along with the World Cup fever, more and more startups are entering the industry. A newly launched startup Apne11 has roped in former Indian skipper Kapil Dev to be its ‘brand advisor’. “I am thrilled to be associated with Apne11 as it will present an open opportunity for millions to compete against one another and have the chance to connect with sports on an even deeper level than before,” said Dev. Apne11 follows the same mantra as most fantasy gaming startups – users get to choose their own team on the platform from amongst the players on the actual field and be awarded points in accordance with the performance of the selected team combination. Growing market The Indian fantasy gaming market is projected to touch $5 billion in the next two years, according to Roland Landers, CEO, All India Gaming Federation. However, this sector already has the presence of the likes of Dream11, which has over 60 million users and is also associated with major cricketing events like the Indian Premier League and the ICC World Cup along with having <keyword id="6354832" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="ms-dhoni">MS Dhoni</keyword> as its brand ambassador. Dream11 also became India’s first gaming unicorn in April 2019. Another player in the same field is Mobile Premier League which got 20 million users within seven months of its launch along with a funding of $35.5 million from Sequoia India. MPL has current Indian skipper <keyword id="6354486" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="virat-kohli">Virat Kohli</keyword> as its brand ambassador. See Also: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/icc-cricket-world-cup-2019-star-network-and-hotstar-viewership/articleshow/69719956.cms">ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 viewership so far on Hotstar is far from the IPL peak</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/icc-cricket-world-cup-2019-dream11s-userbase-can-hit-90-million/articleshow/69580087.cms">As England vs South Africa game kicks off, the World Cup is fuelling Dream11's dream run in 2019</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/mobile-premier-league-raises-series-a-funding-of-35-5-million-from-sequoia-india-times-internet-and-goventures/articleshow/69017909.cms">This 7-month old startup has $35.5 million funding from Sequoia and Virat Kohli as its brand ambassador</a>

This 1983 cricket World Cup star just turned brand advisor for India’s latest fantasy gaming startup

Bengaluru, May 7 () The 'CheckmateCovid' online chess tournament raised an amount of Rs 15 lakh, which was donated to the Karnataka Chief Minister's COVID-19 Relief Fund.A total of 19,245 players registered for the tournament, which had a total prize pool of Rs 10 lakh, a media release issued here said on Thursday.The tournamemt was conducted by Karnataka government along with the United Karnataka Chess Association and Mobile Premier League (MPL).GM Ankit Rajpara won the tournament, which was held on May 2 and 3.GM Bhakti Kulkarni won the award for the top-ranked female player and Shakuntala Devi won the award for top-ranked player above 60 years of age.The tournament saw a total of 2.37 lakh chess games."I thank all the players who participated and contributed to the CheckmateCovid Chess Tournament. We are glad to have collected a large amount for the CM's Covid Relief Fund. We must continue to come together and fight this crisis," said Karnataka Sports Minister CT Ravi.The matches were played in the Speed Chess format, with each player getting three minutes in the game. Winners were decided on the basis of maximum such games won over the two-day duration of the tournament. SS KHSKHS

Online chess tourney helps raise Rs 15 lakh for COVID-19 relief fund

New Delhi, As global layoffs deepen, Indian startups are not far behind and have sacked thousands of employees in the past 3-4 months, with many more to be given pink slips in the coming months amid deepening funding winter. In <keyword id="3658" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="india" source="Orion">India</keyword>, more than 21,000 employees have been laid off by more than 70 startups to day, including from unicorns like BYJU'S, <keyword id="6354720" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="ola" source="Orion">Ola</keyword>, MPL, Innovaccer, Unacademy, Vedantu, Cars24, <keyword id="2808667" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="oyo" source="Orion">OYO</keyword>, Meesho, Udaan and many more. The edtech sector has laid off the most employees, with 16 edtech startups laying off more than 8,000 employees to date. With the onset of January, more and more Indian companies are slashing jobs across the spectrum. The new year has already seen more than 16 homegrown startups sack employees in the country. Social media company <keyword id="3358959" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="sharechat" source="Orion">ShareChat</keyword> (Mohalla Tech Pvt Ltd) has laid off 20 per cent of its workforce due to uncertain market conditions. Backed by Twitter, Google, Snap and <keyword id="526777" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="tiger-global" source="Orion">Tiger Global</keyword>, ShareChat has about 2,300 employees, and the layoff impacted about 500 people at the company, Healthtech unicorn Innovaccer has sacked nearly 245 employees, or about 15 per cent of its workforce, across teams in India and the US. Innovaccer cofounder and CEO Abhinav Shashank cited an "uncertain macroeconomic environment" as the reason behind the job cuts, according to an internal mail sent to employees and accessed by leading startup news portal Inc42. This was the second layoff at the company in around 4-5 months' time amid the deepening funding winter and recession fears. In September last year, Innovaccer laid off nearly 120 employees, or less than 8 per cent of its workforce. Online food delivery platform <keyword id="6358977" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="swiggy" source="Orion">Swiggy</keyword> confirmed that the company is laying off 380 employees as food delivery growth slows. MediBuddy, an end-to-end digital healthcare platform in India, has laid off 8 per cent of its workforce, around 200 people, across all departments as a restructuring exercise. Homegrown online vehicle repair platform GoMechanic, backed by <keyword id="563136" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="sequoia-india" source="Orion">Sequoia India</keyword>, has laid off 70 per cent of its workforce as the startup struggles to raise funds amid serious concerns of accounting troubles. The company has asked the remaining staff to work without pay for three months, according to reports. Software-as-a-service (SaaS) voice automation startup Skit.ai has asked more than 115 employees to go, mostly from its India team, as part of the "restructuring process" amid the deepening funding winter. Even IT giant <keyword id="10862" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="wipro" source="Orion">Wipro</keyword> has laid off more than 400 fresher employees for poor performance in internal assessment tests. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/budget/news/budgeting-for-climate-change/articleshow/97378027.cms">Budgeting for the fifth C</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/news/an-app-that-wants-to-turn-fear-of-stock-markets-into-fun-raises-75-lakh-from-sharks/articleshow/97378121.cms">An app that wants to turn fear of stock markets into fun raises ₹75 lakh from sharks</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/india/news/steps-taken-in-subsidence-hit-joshimath-inadequate-declare-himalayas-eco-sensitive-zone-say-experts/articleshow/97411665.cms">Steps taken in subsidence-hit Joshimath inadequate, declare Himalayas eco-sensitive zone, say experts</a>

70-plus Indian startups show exit door to 21K techies, more pink slips coming

Indian startup founders on Monday said that to explore a comprehensive digital India, the <keyword id="6360189" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="union-budget" source="Orion">Union Budget</keyword> for FY24 must leverage the full inherent potential of the homegrown technology industry to become champions of digitisation. Gautam <keyword id="893041" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="nimmagadda" source="Orion">Nimmagadda</keyword>, Founder and CEO of Quixy, a cloud-based no-code application development platform, said that currently, startups can avail of a tax holiday for three years since incorporation. "However, the ideal exemption should be 10 years, in view of the high cost of solution development. As positive employment drivers, startups also require government intervention in the expensive affair of hiring and retaining the right talent to drive growth," Nimmagadda said in a statement. "To lead the startups onwards and upwards, a single-window process to enable the right financial support from government would be incentivising for MSMEs," he added. According to ESOPDhan co-founder <keyword id="576027" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="nitin-agarwal" source="Orion">Nitin Agarwal</keyword>, the budget can reduce the holding period of ESOP shares of unlisted companies from two years to one year for purposes of capital gain. "This would make ESOPs a more attractive tool to retain and reward employees, especially among startups that are today seen as major job creators," Agarwal added. 2023 is already shaping up to be a watershed moment for the gaming industry. With the government releasing draft online gaming rules earlier this month, the burgeoning sector will see a lot more success this year. According to Sai Srinivas, Co-founder and CEO of MPL, the industry hopes to get clarity in a few areas. "The first is the GST mechanism on online gaming. We hope the government provides clarity on the tax slab applicable on skill gaming. Another relates to the AVGC fund set up as part of the AVGC Promotion Task Force announced in last year's budget," he mentioned. Access to financial support "will be a tremendous boost to young talented developers and designers, and will accelerate the push to 'Create in India' and take made-in-India games to the world," he added. <keyword id="16292225" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="dhruv-jolly" source="Orion">Dhruv Jolly</keyword>, Founder and MD, <keyword id="16292224" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="taponn" source="Orion">TapOnn</keyword> digital, said that the budget would include some assistance for qualifying firms under the 'Startup India Scheme' in terms of the number of taxes that must be filed, the frequency of filing, or the tax slabs. "We might witness a strong emphasis on attracting more foreign investment, making the registration and compliance process more easy and fast, and strengthening economic ties with other countries in the Indo-Pacific region," Jolly said. SEE ALSO: <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/corporates/news/adani-group-stocks-witness-high-volatility-amidst-war-of-words-between-the-company-and-hindenburg-research/articleshow/97437171.cms">Adani Group stocks witness high volatility amidst war of words between the company and Hindenburg Research</a> <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/startups/news/auto-parts-sourcing-startup-capgrid-raises-7-million-from-nexus-venture-others/articleshow/97437294.cms">Auto parts sourcing startup CapGrid raises $7 million from Nexus Venture, others</a>

Budget expectations: Startups seek 10-yr tax holiday, less holding period of ESOP shares

As more and more companies across the spectrum sack employees amid the global meltdown, at least 853 tech companies worldwide have laid off about 137,492 employees to date, and the tally is only going north amid recession fears. According to data from layoffs.fyi, a crowdsourced database of tech layoffs, 1,388 tech companies have fired a total of 233,483 employees since the onset of Covid-19, but 2022 has been the worst for the tech sector. As of mid-November, more than 73,000 workers in the US tech sector have been laid off in mass-level job cuts led by companies like <keyword id="399907" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="meta" source="Orion">Meta</keyword>, Twitter, Salesforce, Netflix, Cisco, Roku, and others. Robinhood, Glossier, and Better are just a few of the tech companies that have notably trimmed their headcount in 2022, according to Crunchbase. Big Tech companies like Amazon and PC and printer major HP Inc have joined the global layoff season and were set to lay off more than 10,000 and up to 6,000 employees in days to come, respectively. Amazon CEO Andy Jassy has warned employees that there will be more layoffs at the company in early 2023 "as leaders continue to make adjustments". The massive job cuts have hit several divisions, especially the Alexa virtual assistant business reportedly set to lose $10 billion this year as the voice assistant never managed to create an ongoing revenue stream. Alphabet, <keyword id="6355629" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="google" source="Orion">Google</keyword>'s parent company, is reportedly gearing up to lay off about 10,000 "poor performing" employees, or 6 per cent of its workforce. According to a report in The Information, Google plans to ease out 10,000 employees through a new ranking and performance improvement plan. In India, nearly 16,000 employees have been asked to go by about 44 startups, led by edtech companies like BYJU'S, Unacademy, and <keyword id="2016957" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="vedantu" source="Orion">Vedantu</keyword>, as VC funding dried up. Other tech startups and unicorns that have laid off employees in India include Ola, Cars24, Meesho, LEAD, MPL, Innovaccer, Udaan and more. Meanwhile, thousands of contractual employees have also been let go, making 2022 the harshest year for workers in the technology sector. The startup ecosystem's funding winter could last another 12 to 18 months and the industry may face "a lot of turmoil and volatility", <keyword id="6354742" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="flipkart" source="Orion">Flipkart</keyword> CEO Kalyan Krishnamurthy has warned. Indian startups are going through steep hiring cuts and the hiring of permanent employees has dipped by a significant 61 per cent in the last 12 months, according to the annual insights report by <keyword id="15395027" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="razorpayx-payroll" source="Orion">RazorpayX Payroll</keyword>, the business banking platform of Razorpay. Only two startups in India, Shiprocket and OneCard, attained unicorn status (valuation $1 billion and above) in the July-September period, according to the latest PwC India report. SEE ALSO: <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/netflix-working-on-brand-new-aaa-pc-game-project/articleshow/95740337.cms">Netflix working on 'brand-new AAA PC game' project</a> <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/cryptocurrency/news/binance-looks-to-hire-8k-people-by-2023-end-ceo/articleshow/95716850.cms">Binance looks to hire 8K people by 2023 end: CEO</a>

853 tech firms lay off over 137,492 workers globally, more job cuts coming

<ul><li><keyword id="7087972" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="mobile-premier-league">Mobile Premier League</keyword> had plans of spending 40% of its marketing budget on <keyword id="6354312" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="IPL">IPL</keyword> this year.</li><li>With the suspension of the league, we speak to <keyword id="6176095" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Abhishek-Madhavan">Abhishek Madhavan</keyword>, Senior Vice President, Growth and Marketing, MPL who tells us how the brand plans to communicate with its consumers now, and what its plans to grow the business further is.</li></ul>The <keyword id="6357332" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Gaming">gaming</keyword> and esports sector in India has been witnessing good growth in India, thanks to improved accessibility in technology and cheaper internet. That investors and venture capitalists are putting in monies in the sector is further proof that there is a huge opportunity. A recent report by <keyword id="274082" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Maple-Capital-Advisors">Maple Capital Advisors</keyword> stated that the Indian gaming sector saw investments of around $544 million between the August 2020 and January 2021 period, a number that is expected to double over the next 12-18 months on the back of higher user awareness and accelerated engagement. Over the past few years, we have seen a number of e-gaming players enter the market. Many of these have been spending substantial amounts on advertising too. One such player, Mobile Premier League (MPL), announced in February this year that it had raised $95 million in a Series D round of funding, bringing its value to $945 million after raising. With this fresh round of funding, MPL planned to expand its eSports portfolio and bolster its efforts to organize more eSports tournaments nationally and internationally at scale. It is also looking at accelerating its international expansion this year. Last month, MPL also acquired esports gaming platform <keyword id="6231572" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="GamingMonk">GamingMonk</keyword> that hosts esports tournaments across multiple platforms. MPL had invested on the Indian Premier League last year and reaped impressive results, it saw the number of gamers on its platform go up 7X post IPL so this year too, the platform had launched an aggressive campaign to grab maximum eyeballs during the league. However, with the suspension of the league, how does it impact its marketing plans for the rest of the year? We spoke to Abhishek Madhavan, Senior Vice President, Growth and Marketing, MPL who told us how the year has been so far for the platform and what more we can expect from it through the rest of the year. Excerpts: <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Q) We had thought 2020 was a difficult year but 2021 has been an even difficult one so far. How has the year been so far for MPL from a business standpoint?" text="Q) We had thought 2020 was a difficult year but 2021 has been an even difficult one so far. How has the year been so far for MPL from a business standpoint?">Q) We had thought 2020 was a difficult year but 2021 has been an even difficult one so far. How has the year been so far for MPL from a business standpoint?</cmsannotation> It’s been quite a year in general. What the country is witnessing is unprecedented and right now, our focus is on trying to do our bit in helping out and ensuring that our employees and their families are safe. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Q) In terms of growth, the pandemic had led to a lot of people staying at home, exploring newer ways of keeping themselves entertained and fantasy gaming benefited from that. What kind of growth have you witnessed in the last one year?" text="Q) In terms of growth, the pandemic had led to a lot of people staying at home, exploring newer ways of keeping themselves entertained and fantasy gaming benefited from that. What kind of growth have you witnessed in the last one year?">Q) In terms of growth, the pandemic had led to a lot of people staying at home, exploring newer ways of keeping themselves entertained and fantasy gaming benefited from that. What kind of growth have you witnessed in the last one year?</cmsannotation> Last year’s lockdown due to the pandemic was a black swan event that nobody could have foreseen. Yet, it did help the gaming industry as people explored their skills by taking to gaming platforms from their homes. However, pure fantasy apps were affected due to the lack of live sporting action last year. That being said, we added over 3 crore users on MPL last year. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Q) You were supposed to spend 40% of our ad budget on IPL. As the league stands postponed indefinitely, how are you modifying your marketing plans for the rest of the year?" text="Q) You were supposed to spend 40% of our ad budget on IPL. As the league stands postponed indefinitely, how are you modifying your marketing plans for the rest of the year?">Q) You were supposed to spend 40% of our ad budget on IPL. As the league stands postponed indefinitely, how are you modifying your marketing plans for the rest of the year?</cmsannotation> We will be back on IPL media properties whenever the league returns. However, since our business is not IPL dependent, we are looking at other conventional media channels to run our brand campaigns on, at the moment. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Q) You had an aim of increasing your user base to 10 crore by the end of the league. How do you aim to achieve this target now?" text="Q) You had an aim of increasing your user base to 10 crore by the end of the league. How do you aim to achieve this target now?">Q) You had an aim of increasing your user base to 10 crore by the end of the league. How do you aim to achieve this target now?</cmsannotation> We are a gaming platform. And while the IPL definitely helps us, what we offer our users goes beyond just fantasy sports. There are over 50 games on MPL across categories like esports, casual, fantasy, etc, and once things get better for the country, you will hear from us on our campaigns. Right now, our focus is on helping the situation get better in whatever way we can. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Q) What kind of growth had you seen from associating with IPL last year?" text="Q) What kind of growth had you seen from associating with IPL last year?">Q) What kind of growth had you seen from associating with IPL last year?</cmsannotation> Last year’s IPL broke viewership records and we too benefited from our partnerships and associations with teams such as KKR and RCB. We engaged our gamers with activities such as player meet-and-greets, special contests, and giveaways. During IPL 2020, the number of fantasy gamers on MPL increased by 7 times compared to pre-IPL, and the number of daily installs of the MPL app increased by 100% compared to pre-IPL 2020. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Q) In the last few years, there has been a boom of fantasy gaming platforms in India. How are you differentiating yourself?" text="Q) In the last few years, there has been a boom of fantasy gaming platforms in India. How are you differentiating yourself?">Q) In the last few years, there has been a boom of fantasy gaming platforms in India. How are you differentiating yourself?</cmsannotation> We are a full-fledged gaming platform with a 365-day value proposition and we aren’t a fantasy app that is dependent on sport seasons or leagues. With our wide variety of games and features, we attract a wide range of users above the age of 18, going all the way to ages 60 and above. Gamers can find all kinds of games on our platform, along with social features to connect with the gaming community. We are also organising fortnightly esports tournaments in games such as Chess, World Cricket Championship, etc, and entry to these tournaments is absolutely free, with lakhs in prize money up for grabs. We are also live-streaming these tournaments to millions of viewers through our social media handles. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Q) Where do you think MPL's next phase of growth will come from?" text="Q) Where do you think MPL's next phase of growth will come from?">Q) Where do you think MPL's next phase of growth will come from?</cmsannotation> Esports is currently on the upswing in India and across the world. We think India has an abundance of talent in esports and mobile esports is the best way forward in recognising and honing this vast talent pool. Esports being recognised by traditional sports competitions like the Asian Games is a big boost for this sector. We aim to take esports to the masses via our mobile application and are geared for the growth coming in from this sector. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Q) Will you continue with your Hain Akal Khelo MPL campaign despite IPL's suspension considering it had been gaining traction?" text="Q) Will you continue with your Hain Akal Khelo MPL campaign despite IPL's suspension considering it had been gaining traction?">Q) Will you continue with your Hain Akal Khelo MPL campaign despite IPL's suspension considering it had been gaining traction?</cmsannotation> The core message behind the ‘Hain Akal Khelo MPL’ campaign is that fantasy sports require skill and knowledge of the game. While we launched it along with the IPL, the campaign continues to run as the core message applies to all fantasy sports. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Q) What is your vision for MPL? Where do you want to see it in the next few years?" text="Q) What is your vision for MPL? Where do you want to see it in the next few years?">Q) What is your vision for MPL? Where do you want to see it in the next few years?</cmsannotation> We want to be the world’s biggest esports and skill gaming platform. That is the vision we have right from the start and we feel India is poised to become a global leader in esports. We have a great number of skilled game developers who can make games for the world and we have so many gamers who are waiting for an opportunity to excel in esports. By bringing them together on our platform, we can exhibit India’s prowess to the world. Our Indonesia business is doing really well and this has encouraged us to plan to expand to other geographies as we march towards realizing our vision.

We will be back on IPL media properties whenever the league returns: Abhishek Madhavan, Mobile Premier League

The <keyword id="6371973" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Karnataka-high-court" source="Orion">Karnataka High Court</keyword> on Monday struck down provisions of the <keyword id="6354780" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="karnataka" source="Orion">Karnataka</keyword> Police (Amendment) Act, 2021 that banned online games. The division bench headed by the Chief Justice Ritu Raj Awasthi and Justice Krishna S. Dixit gave the order. The bench said in its order that in the 'Karnataka Act number 28/2021 to the extent the provisions, (not the entire Act) declared to be ultra vires to the Constitution of India and struck down. The consequences of striking down the provisions shall follow.' "However, nothing in this judgment shall be construed to prevent an appropriate legislation be brought about concerning the subject i.e; betting and gambling in accordance with the provisions of the constitution. A writ of mandamus is issued restraining the respondents from interfering with online gaming business and allied activities of the petitioners," the order said. The Karnataka Police (Amendment) Bill, 2021 was mooted by ruling BJP to amend the Karnataka Police Act 1963, in the Monsoon session. The BJP leaders claimed that they were introducing the Bill to ban online gaming in the interest of people. The law included all forms of wagering or betting in connection with any game of chance barring horse racing. However, the new law was opposed by online gaming companies and it was said that the policy would affect the prospectus of the city which is emerging as a hub of online gaming companies. The new Act banned all formats of online games involving wagering, betting and gambling of all nature and forms in the state. Under the new legislation, online gaming was considered a non-bailable offence with a fine of Rs 1 lakh and imprisonment up to three years. Along with banning games of skills, the government had also categorised online games using electronic means and virtual currency, electronic transfer of funds in connection with any game as gambling. The new legislation was passed in the Monsoon session by both the Houses of the legislature in Karnataka. Mobile Premier League (MPL) was one of the first companies to stall its operations in Karnataka. Paytm First Games was also locked. The online gaming companies moved to the court questioning the new legislation. Similar law was also challenged in Tamil Nadu and online gaming operators got relief against the government order from the High Court. The Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) had stated that the new legislation by the government will dent the image of Karnataka as a startup hub and the state exchequer will see a huge revenue deficit. It also maintained that with the new legislation offshore gamblers will flourish. Sources say that the state has more than 100 gaming companies with a workforce of 4,000. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/international/news/tech-giant-tencent-is-limiting-kids-access-to-its-gaming-platform-and-only-allowing-them-14-hours-of-play-during-chinas-4-week-school-break/articleshow/88974669.cms">Tech giant Tencent is limiting kids' access to its gaming platform and only allowing them 14 hours of play during China's 4-week school break</a>

Karnataka High Court quashes law banning online gaming, calls it unconstitutional

<ul><li>The tech industry has seen more than 200,000 <keyword id="6357067" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="layoffs" source="Orion">layoffs</keyword> since the start of 2022.</li><li>Instead of performance, the focus for layoffs is more on eliminating redundant roles that no longer add a major value to the organization.</li><li>Some of the red flags an employee should look out for are a decrease in hiring, budget cuts and changes in management.</li></ul>Bipin Singh, a business development manager at Byju’s with over 11 years experience in the EdTech industry was laid off last month after a stint of 1.5 years at the company. In his LinkedIn post he mentioned about the layoff and urged everyone to reach out to him with job offers or if not, like share and comment on his post to increase reach. Anil <keyword id="906861" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="sahani" source="Orion">Sahani</keyword>, a software engineer, lost his job in Accenture recently .“I was one of the first ones to let go as I was a contract employee and also did not have any notice period. The layoffs are still on.” Singh and Sahani are among the thousands of employees who have been affected by tech layoffs in India. Google trend data, which reflects what people search for, shows that between January 22-28 this year, the term ‘layoff’ was at its peak popularity of 100, while between January 23 to January 29 last year, it was just at five. This is not surprising because layoffs are being reported majorly in the media and almost every other post on Linkedin is talking about layoffs. It all started with the news that the big tech giants like Amazon and Google parent Alphabet were laying off in large numbers. While Alphabet laid off 12,000 people, the Amazon layoffs affected more than 18,000 people. Microsoft said it will lay off 10,000 people by the end of the third quarter of 2023 and even SAP and IBM have started laying off employees. It seems it is almost like a contagion that is spreading rapidly like wildfire. The Indian situation: Which brings us to the question: Is the situation as bad in India? Layoffs are now a reality in India too. Reports suggest that around 21,000 techies have lost their jobs in the last three to four months. In the third week of January, Wipro fired more than 400 freshers for failing performance tests. While Amazon has laid off 1,000 of its employees in India, IBM and SAP are also laying off employees, affecting their employees in India as well. Very recently, Byju’s laid off 1,000 people, in a second round of layoffs in February. Sivaprasad N, vice president &amp; business head, TeamLease Digital, a staffing solutions company, puts the number of layoffs in the tech industry at more than 2,00,000 since 2022. Over 21,000 employees <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/news/70-plus-indian-startups-show-exit-door-to-21k-techies-more-pink-slips-coming/articleshow/97411761.cms?">have been laid off </a>by 70 startups in the past 3-4 months including from unicorns like BYJU'S, <keyword id="6354720" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="ola" source="Orion">Ola</keyword>, MPL, Innovaccer, Unacademy, Vedantu, Cars24, OYO, Meesho, Udaan and many more. Anuj Gupta, who has over 10 years of experience in SEO, has lost his job in edtech company upGrad and is a part of the current tech and marketing layoff wave. The layoff situation in India is currently more of a spill-over effect of shake-ups in the West. Unlike the funding winter that hit the Indian funded tech startups cohort in 2022, the current layoffs by big labels are largely corrective talent adjustments. “Despite potential opportunities coming our way due to global shakeups, it is prudent for India Inc. to treat the current layoffs as a tip of the iceberg,” says <keyword id="138078" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="kamal-karanth" source="Orion">Kamal Karanth</keyword>, CoFounder, Xpheno, a specialist staffing company. He adds that enterprises, especially in tech, will benefit from remaining alert and conservative on costs for at least two quarters. Agrees Sivaprasad, “Companies are battling a slowdown in demand after a hiring frenzy. No company is certain to avoid significant cutbacks in such an economic environment. We are witnessing a significant drop in tech hiring unlike previous years as companies are only doing selective hiring for critical projects. It looks like the trend will continue for some time.” Many IT majors have announced mass layoffs in the last couple of months, quoting factors like overhiring, an impending recession and geopolitical conflicts. “We expect businesses to exhibit caution in hiring and workforce management through a major part of 2023,” <keyword id="13896318" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="sachin-alug" source="Orion">Sachin Alug</keyword>, CEO, NLB Services - a global technology &amp; digital talent solutions company. Delhi-based Pankaj Kumar, laid off from a software company this month, says that one day he got a message saying that the company was restructuring and that it was his last day. “However, we were forced to resign and also we received very little in the name of assistance as promised.” Kumar feels that most startups today have no clue about manpower requirements and just hire to show their investors that they are doing well without having an idea of how they can sustain themselves in crucial times. Tech jobs have been the most affected: As discussed, tech companies, especially IT firms, are very vulnerable to an impending recession in the US. “The tech sector has always been highly sensitive to economic cycles, and the current economic downturn could have a significant impact on these companies. A recession could lead to decreased consumer spending, reduced corporate investment, and layoffs, which could all hit tech companies hard,” says <keyword id="328697" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="sandeep-budhiraja" source="Orion">Sandeep Budhiraja</keyword>, Co-founder, Executive Director and Chief People Officer - BYLD Group which provides HR and Business productivity solutions, Additionally, the US market is a major source of revenue for many tech companies, so a recession here could have a widespread impact on global operations. Finally, any disruption to the global supply chain could further disrupt tech companies, as many rely on components and materials sourced from around the world. “The sectors that may be most affected, other than the technology, are telecommunications, financial services and retail. The telecommunications sector could be hit by reduced investment in infrastructure and lower customer demand. The financial services sector could be adversely affected by a decrease in credit availability and tightened lending standards, while the retail sector could suffer from decreased consumer spending,” adds Budhiraja. Everyone is vulnerable: “Instead of performance, the focus for layoffs is more on eliminating redundant roles that no longer add major value to the organization. Usually, mass layoffs affect employees invariably regardless of their performance but in organizations that choose to let go of a selected few, performers at a certain level tend to be the target,” says Alug. The primary causes of layoffs are the foreseeable recession and the geopolitical scenario which have led to inflation, impacting many industries. Prominent players in the IT and Technology domain are being cautious to ensure profitability and better predictability of business. Agrees Karanth, “The larger layoffs related to enterprise strategy and austerity are mostly across the ranks and ratings of performance. Such layoffs related to macroeconomic movements are typically steamrollers on entire divisions, geographies and business units. While each enterprise has their own pattern of priority on the layoffs, the high cost and high volume headcounts typically come under the lens faster.” Look out for red flags: “Layoffs in a situation like now are largely written on the wall. It is often the speed and style of a layoff that's a surprise to talent, and not the layoff by itself,” says Karanth. Some of the red flags an employee should look out for are a decrease in hiring, budget cuts and changes in management. “Additionally, if a company is reducing or eliminating certain departments or projects, it may be a sign that layoffs are coming. If there are rumours of layoffs or if employees are being asked to take unpaid leave, this could also be a sign that layoffs are imminent. Finally, if the company is not meeting its financial goals or is experiencing a downturn in business, layoffs may be a possibility,” says Alug. Hiring remains slow: “Many of those who lost their jobs are still looking for work, as nearly every major corporation has put a freeze on new hiring due to global macroeconomic conditions and recession fears. We are witnessing a significant drop in tech hiring unlike previous years as companies are only doing selective hiring for critical projects. Looks like the trend would continue for some time,” says Sivaprasad. However Karanth feels that while tech hiring has slowed down, there are opportunities for talent who are flexible and agile to look beyond their domain. The non-tech sector's talent demand has been compensating well for tech's hiring slowdown. <keyword id="2838370" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="shraddha-jain" source="Orion">Shraddha Jain</keyword>, who is also known as 'Aiyyo Shraddha' on social media, posted a hilarious video on Instagram, where she slammed companies for laying off employees despite making a profit. "At the company offsite, we celebrated the company tripling its profit in a year. What happened? A month later we are so poor. Who robbed us?" she asked. While these are questions that reflect the grim reality of large scale layoffs, employees should brace themselves for tough times ahead. 2023 will be a turbulent ride.

Tech layoffs to continue for sometime thanks to a slowdown in demand and an uncertain economic environment

<ul><li><keyword id="4621694" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="freshworks" source="Orion">Freshworks</keyword> made its trading debut on US stock exchange Nasdaq on Wednesday and its valuation touched $12 billion.</li><li>The company sold 28.5 million common shares, raising $1 billion in proceeds.</li><li>The CEO says that the IPO created 500 crorepatis in India, 70 of which are under 30.</li></ul>Indian software-as-a-service (SaaS) firm Freshworks made its trading debut on US stock exchange Nasdaq on Wednesday and it was a strong one. The company was valued at $12.2 billion after it opened 21% above the initial offering price of $36 apiece. Shares of Freshworks opened at $43.5. The stock hit an<a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/freshworks-stock-price-ipo-nasdaq-debut-salesforce-software-crm-2021-9"> intraday high</a> of $48.75 on September 22. Freshworks sold 28.5 million common shares, raising $1 billion in proceeds. Girish Mathrubootham, in interviews with several media outlets, highlighted that the Freshworks initial public offering (IPO) created a lot of wealth for its employees as more than 500 of its employees turned crorepatis (millionaires). He further added that about 70, of these 500 employees, are under the age of 30. "I feel like an Indian athlete who has won a gold medal at the Olympics. We are showing the world what a global product company from India can achieve,” he added, in an <a href="https://www.moneycontrol.com/news/business/freshworks-ipo-creates-more-than-500-crorepatis-in-india-with-70-of-them-aged-below-30-7496681.html">interaction </a>with Moneycontrol. The company was valued at $3.5 billion when it raised $150 million funding from investors like Sequoia Capital, CapitalG and Accel in November 2019. The company is also backed by Steadview Capital and Tiger Global Management. It plans to use the proceeds from the offering to acquire complementary businesses, products, services or technology. A part will also be used for general corporate purposes like working capital, operating expenses and capital expenditure. Founded by Mathrubootham and Shan Krishnasamy as Freshdesk in 2010, the company started its journey as a helpdesk software for customer support. It decided to rebrand itself to Freshworks in June 2017 to incorporate the company’s growing software suite. Freshworks claims to have over 52,500 customers across the globe and it reported a revenue of $169 million in the first half of 2021. Compared to the first half of 2020, the company’s revenue has grown by nearly $60 million. SEE ALSO <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/cryptocurrency/news/south-koreas-crypto-regulations-are-tightening-around-investors-and-exchanges-alike/articleshow/86426452.cms">South Korea’s crypto regulations are tightening around investors and exchanges alike</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/stock-market/news/paras-defence-and-space-technologies-ipo-gets-blockbuster-demand-from-investors/articleshow/86422668.cms">Paras Defence and Space Technologies IPO gets blockbuster demand from investor</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/news/experts-say-karnatakas-ban-on-games-of-chance-like-dream11-and-mpl-may-face-a-legal-test/articleshow/86419697.cms">Experts say Karnataka’s ban on games of chance like Dream11 and MPL may face a legal test</a>

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We will be back on IPL media properties whenever the league returns: Abhishek Madhavan, Mobile Premier League

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