New Delhi: Battlegrounds Mobile India or BGMI parent, South Korea's Krafton has invested $5 million in Indian dating app FRND as part of a Series A round of funding worth $6.5 million that includes other investors, such as Elevation Capital and India Quotient, the media has reported.
FRND is a Bengaluru-based dating and friend discovery startup that lets users connect with each other through one-on-one voice chat while playing games. The app provides services in 10 Indian languages. The startup is reportedly mulling to expand to more Indian languages after the investment.
According to media reports, Krafton's investment in FRND is also the most recent investment in an Indian startup. The South Korean company had previously invested in startups that include homegrown video game streaming platform Loco, esports firm NODWIN and storytelling platform Pratilipi.
Meanwhile, Krafton's PUBG: New State recently surpassed more than 45 million downloads worldwide. Krafton Inc also recently released the first-ever major update since its launch. The update to PUBG: New State is downloadable for both iOS and Android users and it adds Survivor Pass Vol. 2 and also allows players to unlock a range of new in-game rewards.
The Survivor Pass is based on the in-game character Bella - a part of the Dream Runners Faction. With this new update, players are able to obtain the L85A3, a new assault rifle with low recoil. While its fire rate is lower than others in the game, the L85A3 is said to offer the highest damage output of all the game's assault rifles that uses 5.56m ammo, making it a great choice to engage enemies at mid-to-long ranges.