Mobile Premier League runs into a wall

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Editor's note: It seems that Mobile Premier League saw the writing on the wall early, perhaps in February itself. The online gaming company had stepped out to raise funds, held a few discussions and in the process, sensed that things were about to go south.  Just a few months before, in September 2021, MPL had announced a massive round. The four-year-old company had raised around $150 million at a valuation of $2.3 billion, a significant number for an Indian gaming company. In its previous fundraising round, in February 2021, MPL had been valued at $945 million. It was a big jump but MPL has always been an investor darling, with marquee venture capital firm Sequoia Capital India being an early supporter of the company. As a gaming executive says, “it comes from the ‘raise a lot, move fast, outspend everyone’ school of startups”. But when MPL tried to initiate another fundraising discussion earlier this year, investors seemed hesitant, according to the gaming executive quoted above, who asked not to be named. A second executive confirmed the discussions. For one, venture capital funds …