JetSynthesys set to ride esports wave after Online Gaming Bill: CEO Rajan Navani

Esports and video gaming are a $200 billion industry globally, but India, despite having a large mobile user base, forms a tiny 1% of it when it comes to monetisation. In consumption, though, India's share rises to nearly 16% or 17%. The Online Gaming Bill is set to fix this gap and align India's gaming ambitions around the global narrative, feels Rajan Navani, Chairman and CEO of digital entertainment and gaming major JetSynthesys.

During an exclusive conversation with Fortune India, Navani said that with the current ban on real-money gaming, it's clear what the government would like to see encouraged more as a competitive sport in India. Enthused with the government's backing for esports via the new bill, Navani says he's clear that JetSynthesys wants to play a big role in this $200 billion global industry.

Pune-based JetSynthesys aims to build an India-first global platform, which caters to the young via its ecosystem of gaming, entertainment and creator services. Navani says esports, like other sports excluding cricket, is still evolving in India, and that the country is better poised to achieve new heights in esports and video gaming because of sheer talent and passion among the young demographic. “Esports has that potential as it aligns with the passion of young people. India has the largest young population in the world. We have an opportunity to become the best in the world, because even the games which people play, say, to win an Olympic medal, are still evolving."

Even though the government has given clear encouragement to the thriving esports sector by promising the right infrastructure, better investor push and formalisation, Navani feels the country must create the right conditions, which will decide India’s esports future. “The top 50 players of GEPL (Global e-Cricket Premier League), a franchise-style digital cricket tournament of JetSynthesys, at least 44 of them were from Tier 2, Tier 3 cities. The biggest things in esports… (are) you need very good, high, stable devices, internet infrastructure, etc. Coaching, training, and nutrition are also big part. In India, the good part is that the data cost is the lowest in the world. The third big part is the stadiums… large championships happen in physical environments."

Another crucial element to fully tap India's esports industry is global IP creation, which can only happen if there's a focus on research and development. Navani feels India still lags when it comes to the right talent, equipped with top skills to create global titles like League of Legends, Dota 2, Counter-Strike, and PUBG. “Video gaming as an industry is a 50-year-old industry. Only when it came to mobile, India started developing. The talent is not available in India… so we’ve invested in talent in Japan, the Bay Area, LA, Eastern Europe, Singapore."

Another factor is massive investments. Developing games on such a global scale requires hundreds of millions of dollars in investment, says Navani. India, he feels, is now ready to take on the big challenge, provided the right enabling environment is created. "It could happen on the 50th game of a studio, it could happen on the second game, it may never happen. But what we need to create a framework… an environment enabling."

Discussing the company's core businesses, Navani notes that esports and gaming form the core, while music and wellness extend the trust. “For JetSynthesys, esports and video gaming have been something core to what we aspire to do, which is to play a role in the daily digital life of a digital-always generation."

Apart from gaming, JetSynthesys operates across digital entertainment and music (Global Music Junction, Artium Academy, and Wakau, 100MB), and wellness & consumer tech (AnyDay Fintech, Woloo, Netra Scan). Navani says JetSynthesys is currently the largest regional music player in Bhojpuri music as well.

JetSynthesys was last valued at around $410 million (mid-2024). Navani says the company is looking at a 20X growth over the next 5 to 6 years. Discussing the company's key investments, including NODWIN Gaming, which is also backed by listed gaming company Nazara, Navani says his company's early bets have paid off well, with the investments in the gaming ecosystem multiplying thousands of times.

Navani says his company is here for the long haul, with a clear mission to build great companies from India for the world. “We still own 18% of NODWIN Gaming, a billion-dollar company. When we acquired Real Cricket… within 2 years, we grew the revenue 3-4X, we grew the value 10X, then brought Krafton as a minority investor (in 2022, PUBG parent Krafton invested in its game studio Nautilus Mobile), and grew it another 5X."