Corporate crossings | JetSynthesys ropes in former Krafton India executive Anuj Tandon as CEO of gaming unit

Anuj Tandon.

Digital entertainment and technology firm JetSynthesys has appointed former Krafton India senior executive Anuj Tandon as the chief executive officer of its gaming unit.

Tandon will work closely with JetSynthesys’ founder and chief executive Rajan Navani to bolster the company's gaming business, it said in a statement.

JetSynthesys, which counts Kris Gopalakrishnan, Adar Poonawalla, and Sachin Tendulkar among its backers, has been building multiple gaming businesses under the Jet brand.

This includes an internal game studio that has developed mobile games such as Sachin Saga, Being Salman, and Super Ludo among others; global business partnerships and publishing wing; esports business Skyesports that was acquired in August last year and Jetapult, though it plans to acquire gaming studios in India and international markets on an invest-and-operate model.

In October 2020, JetSynthesys had acquired mobile game development studio Nautilus Mobile which has developed a simulation-based cricket gaming franchise called Real Cricket. Tandon has previously served on the board of Nautilus Mobile, as part of Krafton's $5.4 million funding in the company in February 2022.

"Anuj, throughout his career, has not only built companies but has also been able to take well-established global gaming companies to the next level in India. We are optimistic that with Anuj’s industry knowledge and experience in the field of technology, esports and gaming, we will be able to make JetSynthesys' hold in the space stronger and deeper," Navani said.

At Krafton, Tandon worked as the head of corporate development for the India and MENA (Middle East and North Africa) regions for just under two years. He was involved in building a strategy for the South Korean gaming giant in India and the MENA regions, besides creating an investment portfolio of local video game, esports, entertainment startups worth over Rs 1,100 crore (around $135 million).

Of this, around $100 million were deployed on local startups such as mobile game development studio Lila Games, game streaming platform Loco, esports firm Nodwin Gaming, Indian language storytelling platform Pratilipi, audio content platform Kuku FM and audio romance and friend discovery startup FRND, besides Nautilus Mobile.

Krafton has also made investments in early-stage venture capital firm 3one4 Capital. The company's MENA investments include mobile game publisher Tamatem.

Before Krafton, Tandon served as the India chief executive of Chinese video games firm Yoozoo Games for more than four years. He's also had a year-long stint at Nazara Technologies, helping them build their mobile gaming publishing business. He had co-founded gaming studio Rolocule Games in 2010 and exited the firm in 2015.

"I truly believe we are on the cusp of the most transformative period for the gaming industry in India and have a once-in-a-generation opportunity to build quality video gaming organisation from India,” Tandon said in a statement.

"Along with Rajan and team, I am excited to take the momentum forward to capture this gaming opportunity for an Indian company and plan to invest and keep growing the business and hopefully take it to new heights," he said.