Is Dream11 A Chinese App? Know About Founder, Country, Company Details

The recent ban on Chinese apps and the sentiment towards becoming self-sufficient in India has begun questioning the origin of various products, apps, services, and more. One of these is the Dream11 app which has recently been chosen as the title sponsor of the Indian Premier League (IPL). Following which many have questioned Dream11's link to Chinese firms and investments.

What Is Dream11?

Let's start with the basics, what is Dream11 and why is there so much uproar about it. Dream11 is a fantasy sports platform where users can play fantasy cricket, hockey, football, basketball, kabaddi, and more. The company was established in 2008 by Harsh Jain and Bhavit Sheth.

Dream11 came to limelight in 2019 when it became the first Indian gaming company to enter the 'Unicorn Club'. The recent title sponsorship deal for the 2020 Indian Premium League will bring fantasy sports to a much more realistic platform.

Is Dream11 A Chinese Company?

Next, to the more burning question: Is Dream11 a Chinese company? The answer is short is no, Dream11 isn't a Chinese company. Dream11 was founded by two Indians namely Harsh Jain and Bhavit Sheth in 2008. The company has been a leading platform in fantasy sports and is the founding member of the Indian Federation of Sports Gaming.

That said, Dream11 has many Chinese investments, the most notable being Tencent. The Chinese conglomerate has invested $100 million in Dream11 for a majority stake as part of the Series D funding in September 2018. Reports suggest that Tencent has a 10 percent stake in Dream11. Apart from Tencent, Dream11 has investments from Steadview, Dream11 counts Multiples, Think Investments, and Kalaari Capital among its investors.

This means that Tencent and other investors do enjoy the profits and perks earned by Dream11. At the same time, Dream11 continues to pay taxes to the Indian government as it's still an Indian company. Dream11 has indeed received a lot of criticism for having investments from Chinese firms. However, the company is an Indian firm, founded by Indians.