Singtel-backed gaming startup Storms takes in funding from EDB New Ventures

SINGTEL-BACKED gaming startup Storms has secured an undisclosed investment from the Economic Development Board's (EDB) New Ventures arm, in support of the startup's growth in South-east Asia and beyond.

Other investors in the startup include Singtel, Thailand's AIS and South Korea's SK Telecom.

The fresh funds will go into strengthening its management and engineering team in Singapore, multiplying its user base and expanding into new markets such as India, Indonesia and Africa, it said. It also plans to invest robustly in research and development to provide tech support for mini eSports tournaments.

Storms is developing some social instant-gaming platforms, and aiming to reach around two billion users in emerging markets. These platforms will be based on both a direct-to-consumer model (D2C) and a business-to-business (B2B) monetisation approach via advertising, licensing and mini eSports tournaments in hyperlocal super apps, it said.

Storms also has a mobile game-publishing arm.

It has partnered with mobile game studios such as Niji Games and AK Publish. Recent releases include offline first-person shooter mobile game, Zombeast: Survival Zombie Shooter, and Umbra: Amulet of Light - a 3D puzzle game.

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Beh Kian Teik, executive vice-president of EDB New Ventures, said: "Storms' focus on hyper-casual games with social and community building elements rides on a growing market demand. We are impressed by the deep industry experience that Storms' management team brings and are confident that the team will benefit from access to Singtel's capabilities and regional telco networks in scaling the business."

Arthur Lang, chief executive of Singtel's International Group, said that, with EDB's support, Storms is well-positioned to scale its business exponentially to become a regional gaming force.