Dream Sports, the parent company of the fantasy gaming platform Dream 11, is setting up an innovation centre in collaboration with Columbia University’s School of Engineering and Applied Science to advance research on new-age technologies such as artificial intelligence and machine learning.
“It is a milestone in Dream Sports’ journey towards offering a world-class user experience,” Harsh Jain, Founder and CEO of Dream11, said in a fireside chat with Shradha Sharma, Founder and CEO of YourStory, at the Mumbai edition of TechSparks 2023.
Dream Sports signed a memorandum of understanding with New York-based Columbia University last month and aims to capture international audiences by focusing on technologies such as AI.
Jain highlighted that Dream11 has 160 million users so far and is hoping the new innovation lab could help scale up the user base further.
Dream Sports intends to invest in more esports, sports content, and fitness equipment companies, Jain said at TechSparks Mumbai.
Its sports streaming platform FanCode is the official partner in India for several sports leagues and teams. It is also the merchandise destination for outfits such as the Indian Premier League cricket franchises, the Board of Control for Cricket in India, the US’s National Basketball Association, World Wrestling Entertainment, and football clubs, including Liverpool and Borussia Dortmund.
“We have already put aside $250 million to invest in sports content, esports, equipment, and gaming companies. We have a portfolio of over 10 companies and wish to expand this further,” Jain said.
“We’re investing in all these portfolio companies to help them grow not just to be a product-focused company like Dream11, but to help them grow constantly in the system,” he added.