PlayBlue, a startup building what it calls India’s home of sport, has announced its first fundraise of USD 2.7 million in seed funding. The round was co led by Centre Court Capital and MIXI Global Investments, with additional participation from WEH Ventures. The company is setting out to build India’s first multi brand omnichannel sports platform, combining physical retail stores with a unified digital shopping experience.
The newly raised capital will go toward launching PlayBlue’s first set of flagship stores along with a pan India e commerce platform. The company has set a target of reaching 100 crore rupees in revenue and achieving profitability in this first phase, before it looks to raise its next round of funding. PlayBlue wants to build a complete sports destination that brings together more than 100 global and homegrown brands across categories like athleisure, footwear, equipment, and nutrition. These offerings will be housed in curated, experience focused stores and supported by a single digital platform offering expert buying guidance, unified inventory, and fast delivery.
Looking ahead, PlayBlue has laid out an ambitious five year plan. The company aims to open 150 stores, build a community of more than 10 million users, and cross 5,000 crore rupees in annual revenue. The rollout will begin with a 15,000 square foot flagship store in Bengaluru. From there, the brand plans to open destination stores in well known high streets and premium malls in Mumbai and Delhi NCR. Alongside the physical stores, PlayBlue’s e commerce platform will offer nationwide delivery right from the start, ensuring that the shopping experience feels consistent whether a customer visits a flagship store in a major city or places an order from a small town far away.
PlayBlue was founded on the belief held by its founders, Jayam Vora and Satyam Trivedi, that India needs sport just as much as sport needs India. Both founders bring two decades of industry experience to the venture, and their approach is built on a simple idea: understanding the game, loving the game, and helping customers become part of the game. This philosophy is shaping how the company plans to design its stores, curate its brand selection, and build its digital shopping experience around the needs of everyday sports enthusiasts across the country.
What makes PlayBlue’s approach stand out is its attempt to merge the best parts of offline and online retail into one seamless experience. Rather than choosing between large curated stores or a purely digital marketplace, the company is building both together, aiming to make expert guidance, wide brand selection, and quick delivery accessible to shoppers no matter where they are located. This combination could make it easier for sports and fitness enthusiasts across India to access global and local brands under one roof, both physically and digitally.
With this seed round now secured, PlayBlue is entering what it describes as day one of its journey to build India’s home of sport. The coming months will likely be focused on getting its first flagship store up and running in Bengaluru while laying the groundwork for its e commerce platform and future store expansions across the country.
