Mobile game developer Nazara Technologies on Thursday said it has acquired a 51% stake in Paper Boat Apps, which offers ‘Kiddopia’ learning app for pre-schoolers.
Under the transaction, Nazara has invested a total of ₹83 crore in Paper Boat Apps in multiple tranches, valuing the company in excess of ₹150 crore.
Paper Boat Apps has issued shares worth ₹43 crore as part of the final tranche under the deal, Nazara founder and Managing Director Nitish Mittersain told PTI.
“Gamified edu-tech is the only way to deliver high-quality learning to such young kids on digital devices. Kiddopia is a perfect example of this overlap between gaming and learning, and their popularity amongst parents and kids speaks for itself,” he said.
According to him, about 20 million children are already part of its ecosystem and Kiddopia will help further strengthen Nazara’s position in the kid’s edutainment vertical.
Edu-tech startups are witnessing strong growth across markets amid the COVID-19 pandemic as schools and educational institutions are going online to conduct classes.
“Kiddopia is fast becoming one of the most successful ‘Made in India’ apps globally and is seeing strong usage in the North America market apart from India. The company is also looking at rapidly expanding into other geographies such as Europe and the Far East,” Mittersain said.
Kiddopia was launched in 2017 by husband and wife Anupam and Anshu Dhanuka, who own Paper Boat Apps. The app has been downloaded by more than 5 million users globally and currently has over 300,000 active subscribers.
“This investment has helped us focus on product enhancement and marketing, thereby leading to a 3X growth in subscriber base. We have just finished our best month and we expect our topline to grow 2X in annual revenues by March 2021,” Anupam Dhanuka said.
He also noted that the company will leverage Nazara’s network of 100 million monthly active users to grow Kiddopia’s subscriber base.
“As a leading preschool app in the US, we will now use the funding to replicate our success in countries across Europe, Latin America and Asia,” he added.
Nazara Technologies has been an aggressive investor in the gaming ecosystem and has invested in many gaming firms like Nextwave Multimedia, Halaplay Technologies, Nodwin Gaming, Qunami, and Bakbuck. It has consummated transactions worth USD 50 million in the last three years.
The company has also taken licensed mobile gaming rights for popular Indian IP characters like Chhota Bheem, Motu Patlu, Mighty Raju, Shikari Shambhu, Roll #21, Eena Meena Deeka, Oggy and the Cockroaches and Shin Chan in the kids’ category.
Nazara is backed by investors, including West Bridge Capital, IIFL Special Opportunities Fund; Rakesh Jhunjhunwala and Turtle Entertainment GmbH, the IP owner of the world’s largest esports franchise (ESL).
