Centre Court Capital closes maiden fund at Rs 410 cr

Bengaluru: Centre Court Capital, a venture capital fund focused on sports, fitness, wellness, and gaming, has successfully closed its maiden fund at Rs 410 crore, exceeding its original target of Rs 350 crore. Anchored by JSW scion Parth Jindal and backed by marquee investors such as Premji Invest, SIDBI, SRI and athletes Neeraj Chopra and PV Sindhu, the oversubscription highlights growing confidence in India's evolving sports-tech ecosystem.

Mustafa Ghouse, founder and general partner of Centre Court Capital, told TOI that while the sector may seem niche, it encompasses a broad opportunity set across sports, fitness, wellness, esports and gaming. "We’ve tracked over 700 startups in the space, and the depth of opportunity convinces investors that this is a strong growth segment," he said.

Ghouse was earlier the CEO of JSW Sports, owner of Delhi Captains at Indian Premier League and Bengaluru FC at Indian Super League, among other investments.

Drawing parallels with mature Western funds in the sports-tech space, Ghouse underscored the fund's operational edge, coming from an industry insider perspective. Centre Court’s portfolio already includes six companies such as Quidditch Innovation Labs, which enhances live sports broadcasting experiences, and Stupa, which provides analytics to federations across Europe and Asia. These startups have shown promising early traction, with some generating revenues of Rs 30-50 crore, and forecasted to scale further.

The fund's investment strategy includes pre-Series A and Series A rounds, with ticket sizes of Rs 8-24 crore, reserving 30-40% capital for follow-ons, and plans to back 15-18 companies.

Ghouse noted that the fund deliberately avoids volatile real-money gaming segments, focusing instead on measurable B2B, analytics and D2C growth opportunities at 13-14% growth rate. "With this fund, we will back founders who are building the infrastructure, analytics and fan-facing products required to convert this market potential into sustainable global businesses," Ghouse said, as India's sports economy eyes growth from $19 billion today to nearly $40 billion by 2030.


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