Saumya Singh is one of the co-founders of WinZO, which is considered as one of the rapidly growing vernacular gaming platforms in India.
Saumya Singh Rathore had an extensive career in the corporate sector before deciding to venture into entrepreneurship. Within just three years of founding the startup with her colleague, it reached a valuation of over $300 million. The following year, they appointed a cricket legend, one of India’s most marketable names, as their brand ambassador.
Saumya Singh Rathore co-founded WinZO in 2018 along with Paavan Nanda. Although it was Saumya’s first time founding a venture, Paavan had prior entrepreneurial experience as a co-founder of Zo Rooms. Together, they found success in the Indian gaming industry by building a profitable business. WinZO, endorsed by cricket legend MS Dhoni, has now become a big brand with over 100 games in six formats and is available in 12 languages.
WinZO provides employment opportunities to a large number of micro-influencers and translators. As of 2022, the platform had around 100,000 influencers who earned a monthly income of Rs 75,000 to Rs 1 lakh, with some even earning up to Rs 5-10 lakh. Saumya Singh Rathore had stated that they aimed to increase the number of influencers to 200,000 in a year. WinZO operates on a micro-transactional business model.
Saumya Singh Rathore, the co-founder of WinZO, has an unconventional background. She pursued a career in psychology and obtained a postgraduate degree from the University of Manchester in the UK. Later, she began her professional journey with KPMG, a leading Big Four company, in London. Afterward, she held various positions at the Times Group of India before venturing into the startup world. Despite being a newcomer to entrepreneurship, she and her co-founder managed to crack the Indian gaming industry with WinZO, which aims to become a unicorn.
Saumya Singh Rathore was part of the founding teams of Zo Rooms and Zostel, both hospitality startups backed by Tiger Global. Later, in 2018, Saumya teamed up with Paavan Nanda, an IIM alumnus, to establish WinZO, a vernacular gaming platform. The startup benefited from the surge in demand for gaming during the pandemic-induced lockdowns and stay-at-home orders. WinZO has received funding of $110.5 million from investors such as Courtside Ventures, Makers Fund, and Griffin Gaming Partners. Saumya’s goal is to turn WinZO into a unicorn with her co-founder.
In 2022, Saumya and Paavan secured the endorsement of popular sports personality MS Dhoni for WinZO. The duo also signed a long-term deal for principal sponsorship of IPL team Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) that same year. Renowned influencers such as Carry Minati and Bhuvan Bam have also been associated with the brand. In 2022, Saumya announced WinZO’s plans to create job opportunities for over 1 lakh individuals. As of July 2021, WinZO’s valuation stood at $366 million, according to Tracxn, which translates to over Rs 3,000 crore as of May 2023.
