Outscal, an educational technology startup with headquarters in Delhi, has received $1.5 million in seed funding from the venture capital firm Kalaari Capital. Outscal, a company founded by Mayank Grover, is developing an ed-tech platform with a focus on the community to elevate talent in the gaming sector.
Through mentoring and job placement support, it enables applicants to succeed in their game development and Web 3 professions. With more than 250 students enrolled and more than 100 game-development firms as hiring partners, Outscal is facilitating many new professions in the gaming sector, according to Vani Kola, managing director of the early-stage VC firm Kalaari Capital.
“Delighted to partner with Mayank Grover and his team as they look to solve one of the biggest challenges in the gaming industry: the shortage of tech talent,” she said.
Outscal, a startup that claims to be the only provider of game development education, claims that its game development programs have assisted hundreds of enthusiastic individuals in securing employment in the gaming sector, many of whom with no prior coding expertise.
It has collaborated with more than 100 Indian game firms, including PTW, GSN Games, and startups like nCore Games, LILA Games, and Playshifu. The startup’s Game Academy has two main products: one is for businesses or studios looking to attract talent, and the other is for professionals and students.
“There are over 5,000+ tech colleges in India, and yet we lack structured programs in game development that align with the industry needs. On the other hand, companies end up either having positions open for months or hiring talent and then have to spend internal senior resources on upskilling the talent pool for their needs. We’re bridging this gap between passionate builders across ages and industry requirements,” said Grover, who has previously worked with gaming studios like Electronic Arts, Kixeye, DeNA, and Junglee Games across USA and India.
Outscal is currently broadening its product selection to attract customers that wish to create Web 3.0 projects. Each year, the global gaming business has 250,000 jobs, more than 50% of which are entry-level positions. If gaming and Web3 are integrated, there are an additional 1.25 million jobs worldwide, with a potential $6.25 billion industry.
In 2022, it is predicted that the global gaming market would surpass $230 billion. Just 6.1% of global expenditure on entertainment and media in 2017 was spent on games. That percentage is anticipated to surpass 11% by 2026. Even if there is a vast market for new game Intellectual Properties (IP), one of the major barriers is a severe lack of tech skills in the gaming industry.