Dream11 parent splits business into eight 'startups' after real-money gaming ban

Dream Sports CEO Harsh Jain

Sports technology major Dream Sports has split into eight ‘startups’, each with its own leaders, in the months following the country’s real-money gaming ban in August.

This move marks a significant restructuring at the parent company of Dream11, now repositioned as a sports entertainment platform, after the recent online gaming law disrupted its core business model, wiping out 95 percent of its revenue and all of its profits.

The eight ‘startups’ span sports content platform FanCode, sports experiences platform DreamSetGo, cricket game Dream Cricket, and artificial intelligence (AI) initiative Dream Sports AI that includes sports performance analytics app Dream Play and AI-powered cricket prediction app RushLine.

Other units include the firm’s fintech initiative that houses fixed deposits and gold investment app Dream Money, open-source unit Dream Horizon, and the philanthropic arm Dream Sports Foundation, apart from Dream11.

"The idea is that these should function as independent entities as much as possible. Each of them will have their own funding," Jain said during the recent Dream11 app launch event.

He added that these ‘startups’ can raise capital from external investors in the future if they need more than what the parent company can provide. “We still want to be majority owners of them, because this is not just about ROI on investment. This is about increasing group operating revenue,” Jain said.

Dream Sports has also redistributed about 800 of Dream11's 1,000 people workforce across these entities, since the revamped Dream11 platform needs less than 200 people, he noted.

With this restructuring, Dream Sports is taking a page from Google parent Alphabet’s operating model. Jain has previously spoken about the company’s aim to pursue diversification similar to the internet giant.

MC interview: “Lost 95% of revenues, 100% of profits, but remain a delusional optimist”: Dream11 founder Harsh Jain on real money gaming ban

Several members of Dream Sports leadership team have moved into CEO roles for these units.

Dream Sports CTO Amit Sharma has become the founder and CEO of Dream Sports AI, while Amit Garde, the senior vice president of engineering at Dream11, now leads Dream Horizon as its CEO.

Dream Sports chief product officer Rahul Mirchandani, who has a banking background, has moved to the company's fintech initiative which is overseen by co-founder Bhavit Sheth.

Dream Game Studios, the unit focussed on cricket games under the brand Dream Cricket, has also undergone a leadership change, Moneycontrol has learnt. Chief business officer Nilay Arora has stepped in as CEO on an interim basis after Rohit Gupta moved on from the company. Dream Sports has confirmed this development.

Gupta was the co-founder of Pune-based mobile game developer Rolocule Games, which Dream Sports acquired in 2021 and later rebranded as Dream Game Studios.

“We believe in a CEO-driven approach. You run your ship, we will run ours, and hopefully the fleet will grow,” Jain said "The central (Dream Sports) team is essentially legal, admin, human resources, public relations, and finance."

In an interview to Moneycontrol in August, Jain had ruled out any layoffs at the company after the government's real-money gaming ban.

Jain reiterated that stance during the launch event last week, calling the workforce a “winning team.”

"It’s like in sports. If you have a match where a decision goes against you, and you lose the final, it doesn’t mean you change the team. It means you play another World Cup six months later, and then you bring home the trophy," he said.

Jain added that it has been tough building a team of engineers in Mumbai over the years, given that few tech companies have been built purely from the city. Hence, the company has no plans for job cuts.

"We are not letting them go until we have to, and right now we don’t have to for the next few years. We have a runway for about 3-4 years," he said "We will ration our benefits, office space, and marketing spends."

Dream Sports is shifting its headquarters from Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC) to Worli in January 2026. The new Dream Sports Stadium office will bring employees from all of the company’s brands together for the first time, a move aimed at helping them collaborate better, move faster, and operate smarter.

Jain said the company has also removed all bonus lock-ins timelines for employees who joined in the past couple of years, giving those who wish to leave the option to do so with pro-rata payouts. “We want people who are fully into the startup mode and are willing to work for it, and we'll share that reward if it comes,” he said "Luckily for us, most people stayed."

It’s worth noting that Dream Sports had shifted its domicile from Delaware in the United States to India in March, a move often described as 'reverse flipping', an indication that the company was gearing up for a possible initial public offering (IPO).

Founded in 2008 by Jain and Sheth, Dream Sports was last valued at $8 billion when it received $840 million funding from a clutch of funds led by Falcon Edge, DST Global, D1 Capital, Redbird Capital, Tiger Global, TPG and Footpath Ventures in November 2021.

For the financial year FY23, the company’s revenue from operations was at Rs 6,384.49 crore, up from Rs 3,841 crore in FY22. Profit after tax stood at Rs 188 crore for the year, from Rs 142 crore in FY22.

Last week, Dream11 unveiled a revamped version of its mobile app, expanding it from a fantasy sports platform to a hangout spot for fans built around creators and livestreamers.

The app now lets users follow matches through livestreams hosted by prominent creators who offer quick insights, match stats and breakdowns of key moments. Viewers can interact with them through chats and reactions.

Consumers can buy DreamBucks, the platform’s in-app currency, or earn them by watching livestreams. They can then spend these to give ‘shoutouts’ to creators or keep their chats pinned during streams.

The app also continues to offer free-to-play fantasy sports, supported by ads and sponsorships. Jain said Dream11 has 250 million users, of which 20 to 30 million still use it every month.