NEW DELHI: Fantasy sports app Dream11’s parent firm Dream Sports has secured $400 million in a new financing round led by the company’s early investors.

The secondary fundraise was led by D1 Capital Partners and Falcon Edge. The new round valued the start-up at nearly $5 billion, up from about $2.5 billion in a mix of primary and secondary September round last year. TCV, a long-time backer of Netflix in India, made its first investment in the firm with this round.

Existing investors including Tiger Global, ChrysCapital, TPG Growth, Steadview Capital and Footpath Ventures also participated in the round, which brings Dream Sports’ total to-date raise to over $720 million. Avendus Capital was the financial advisor to Dream Sports on the transaction.

“This is a huge vote of confidence to the Indian start-up ecosystem. We have created the fantasy sports category in India to drive digital engagement to real-life sporting events and bring fans closer to the sport they love. We are proud to continually contribute to the overall expansion of the Indian sports ecosystem. Our growth trajectory is also a testimony to the prime minister’s vision of Atmanirbhar Bharat and Digital India,” said Dream Sports co-founder & chief executive Harsh Jain in a statement.

The start-up, whose Android app is not on the Play Store, said it has over 100 million users. Dream11 was the title sponsor for IPL 2020 after bidding $30 million for the much-coveted honour.

“India is home to the world’s largest and most energetic sports fan base with a dynamic mix that is unique to the subcontinent. Dream Sports is serving this community with a highly innovative product offering,” said TCV general partner Gopi Vaddi.

Dream11 isn’t the only firm building a niche in the fantasy sports space in India. Sequoia Capital India and Times Internet-backed Mobile Premier League is also a major player, which has expanded to traditional mobile games in recent months. Twitter-backed ShareChat also quietly began experimenting with fantasy sports last year.