SportVot: Pioneering Innovation in Streaming and Grassroots Sports
From ElevenLabs’ $250M Fundraise to SportVot’s Mission to Stream 500,000 Games to CTV led advertising disruption —Key Insights for VCs and Founders
Hey founders, funds, & friends 👋,
A warm welcome to the 47th edition of the “Mehtta Ventures Dubai” investment digest newsletter, your weekly news digest about startup stories across the Middle East & India, digital / business trends shaping our lives and curated venture investment opportunities.
Go ahead and subscribe below to receive this newsletter with a fresh startup & investor perspective in your inbox every Monday.
ElevenLabs’ $250M Fundraise: What It Means for AI Startup Valuations
The Numbers Behind ElevenLabs' $3B+ Valuation
[Source: Newsbytes]
New York-based synthetic voice startup ElevenLabs has secured a $250 million Series C funding round, valuing the company at $3 billion to $3.3 billion, led by ICONIQ Growth. This funding marks an impressive leap from its $80 million Series B round in January 2024, where the valuation hovered around $1 billion.
Here’s why the numbers matter:
ARR Growth: ElevenLabs scaled its Annualized Recurring Revenue (ARR) from $25M in 2023 to $80M in October 2024, with some estimates pushing ARR closer to $90M by November.
Valuation Multiple: At a 37x ARR, the valuation is aggressive yet reflective of AI's booming market demand. For context, ElevenLabs initially sought a $4B valuation (a 44x ARR multiple) but landed on a slightly more conservative figure.
Guidelines for VCs Navigating Hot AI Valuations
Growth vs. Hype: ElevenLabs demonstrates how AI startups with real adoption—across industries like publishing, gaming, and tech—justify high multiples. VCs must assess both growth and customer stickiness.
Valuation Discipline: Multiples above 30x ARR are rare even in AI, signaling a need for sharp due diligence. How does revenue scale with product maturity? Also, the fact that their revenue numbers jumped from $25 million in 2023 to $80 million in ‘24 shows a 2.2X jump in 10 months is reassurance for investors that market adoption is hastening.
Investor-Led Trends: With ICONIQ Growth, Andreessen Horowitz, and others leading ElevenLabs’ journey, the backing of top-tier firms is a signal—but not the sole determinant—of long-term success.
Beyond the Valuation
Founded in 2022, ElevenLabs' journey from beta product to industry-wide adoption in just two years highlights the growing application of AI voice tech in text-to-speech, voice cloning, and media. With clients like The Washington Post, HarperCollins, and major gaming studios, ElevenLabs’ product-market fit is driving its sustained growth.
As more AI startups chase billion-dollar valuations, the key takeaway for investors remains clear: focus on sustainable ARR growth, versatile applications, and market leadership over hype-driven multiples.
How do you feel about these valuation multiples—do they signify promise or overinflation? Share your thoughts with us.
Today’s program:
Why is Connected TV (CTV) dominating the Ad game?
Spotlight on SportVot: Revolutionizing Grassroots Sports Broadcasting
And….Action!
Why is Connected TV (CTV) dominating the Ad game?
What’s the one screen where brands can truly make an impact? If you ask Aksh and Rohit, the co-founders of Adsolut Media—one of the fastest-growing ad networks in the world (completely bootstrapped and on the way to an IPO) —the answer is simple: CTV is where the magic happens.
Their insights on CTV's rise, brand visibility, and game-changing innovations were the highlight of their recent interview on the PressPlay Podcast—a platform dedicated to startups and scaleups in the GAMES (Gaming, Ad Tech, Media Tech, Entertainment, and Sports Tech) world.
Here’s what stood out from our conversation:
🔹 CTV is unmatched for brand visibility—it’s the largest screen with the longest attention spans.
🔹 Innovative formats are thriving—QR codes, interactive offers, and retargeting are just the beginning.
🔹 It’s outperforming Google Search and social ads in driving impact and engagement.
🔹 The future is bright—as brands and agencies invest, the CTV market is set for exponential growth.
💡 Aksh and Rohit’s key questions for brands / the media industry overall:
1️⃣ How do you measure the impact of a CTV ad?
2️⃣ Can you retarget CTV audiences across mobile and other devices?
With TV companies lowering their margins to drive adoption, CTV is evolving into an advertising powerhouse. The ecosystem is ready, but are brands?
🎧 Catch the full episode for more insights from Adsolut Media’s journey (link in the first comment below) and their thoughts on what’s next for ad tech in the GAMES world:
Spotlight on SportVot: Revolutionizing Grassroots Sports Broadcasting
SportVot is a Mumbai-based sports-tech startup that has developed a multi-sport over-the-top (OTT) platform dedicated to live-streaming local sports events across India. They are now expanding globally by unlocking a B2B SaaS business and showcasing grassroots sports streaming around the world!
By providing an accessible digital space, SportVot enables emerging athletes to showcase their talents, thereby bridging the gap between grassroots sports and wider recognition.
Founding Team and Vision
Established in 2019 by co-founders Sidhhant Agarwal (CEO), Shubhangi Gupta (CMO), and Yash Bhagwatkar (COO), SportVot was born from a shared passion for sports and a commitment to democratizing access to sports content. The founders recognized a significant gap in the coverage of local sports and sought to empower athletes by providing a platform that offers visibility and opportunities for discovery.
Funding Milestones
In a notable funding milestone, SportVot secured ₹9.4 crore in a Pre-Series A round led by Omidyar Network India, with participation from Anicut Capital, StartupLynk, Ventana Ventures, and existing investors such as Capital A, Ankur Capital, SucSEED Indovation Fund, and Marwah Sports. This infusion of capital is aimed at expanding SportVot's technological capabilities and product offerings to enhance sports participation across India.
Cap Table Insights
As of the latest funding round, institutional investors hold approximately 42.38% of SportVot's total shareholding, while the founding team retains a 37.56% stake. An ESOP pool accounts for 10%, with the remaining shares distributed among enterprise investors (5.05%), angel investors (4.56%), and other investors (0.45%) [Source: Tracxn]
Impact and Future Prospects
SportVot has made significant strides in digitizing grassroots sports, having enabled the live streaming of over 100,000 games across more than 15 sports disciplines. The platform's partnerships with organizations such as the Brahmaputra Volleyball League in Assam, the Maharashtra State Kabaddi Association, the Football Delhi Association, and the Nashik District Cricket Association underscore its commitment to nurturing local talent. With the recent funding, SportVot aims to scale its operations further, aspiring to digitize over 500,000 games both within India and internationally, thereby providing unprecedented opportunities for emerging athletes.
For a deeper insight into SportVot's journey and vision, you can watch the Pressplay podcast with co-founders Sidhhant and Shubhangi:
If you know of startup founders building in the “eyeball economy”, please go ahead and connect us. Let’s pay it forward together :-) 2025 it is!
Watch this space and subscribe / share with your friends.
While you wait for our next newsletter, I encourage you to check out our other newsletter / streaming consulting destination: The Streaming Lab where we cover streaming insights from MENA and India.
The “Mehtta Ventures Dubai investment digest” is a weekly newsletter exploring the trends that matter to startup founders and investment professionals in the Middle East & India. If you are not already a subscriber, sign up and join several others who receive it directly in their inbox every Monday.
Interested in investing with Mehtta Ventures Dubai in MENA & India? Email me
+ We work with startups, funds, other family offices and investment banks and help them upgrade their strategies, investments and market access. Contact me here.
+ We are on the Board of Directors of Adsolut Media, Asia’s largest digital video ad network. Please get in touch if you want to advertise to build awareness or generate leads for your brand across 7 billion + impressions per month including 150+ publishers, OTTs and broadcasters in the Middle East and several more in India, APAC, Europe and the United States. Contact me here.