Kerala-based gaming technology company ARC has raised Rs 10.5 crore in a pre-seed funding round led by Chimera VC and MIXI Global Investments.
The round also saw participation from Dhruv Vohra, Director at Meta APAC, who invested in his personal capacity.
ARC plans to use the fresh capital to accelerate hardware engineering, product validation, manufacturing and supply-chain readiness. The funding will also support the development of OWL OS and the company’s gaming software platform.
The startup will use part of the capital to expand its team, strengthen its go-to-market capabilities and build strategic partnerships as it prepares for the commercial launch of its gaming hardware.
Building Portable Gaming Hardware
Founded by Jobin Joseph and Kaustubh K. Jadhav, ARC is developing ARC X1, a portable gaming system designed to make dedicated gaming hardware more accessible to Indian gamers.
The company is developing both the hardware and software stack for the device, including its proprietary gaming operating system, OWL OS.
ARC X1 is based on an ARM architecture powered by Qualcomm technology. The system is designed to support Android gaming, PC-game compatibility and cloud gaming, giving users access to multiple gaming formats through a portable device.
More Than 50,000 Sign-Ups on Waitlist
ARC has already crossed 50,000 waitlist sign-ups for ARC X1 ahead of its commercial launch, indicating early interest in the product.
The company has also collaborated with Qualcomm as it works towards bringing the device to market.
ARC is involving gamers in the early stages of product testing and gathering feedback to refine the gaming system before its commercial launch. This approach is aimed at helping the company improve the product based on actual user requirements and gaming preferences.
Focus on Engineering and Launch Readiness
With the latest funding, ARC will focus on strengthening the engineering and product development capabilities required to take ARC X1 from validation to commercial readiness.
The company will work on hardware engineering, product validation, manufacturing and supply-chain preparation, while continuing to develop OWL OS and its wider gaming software platform.
ARC also plans to grow its team, expand its go-to-market capabilities and develop strategic partnerships as it prepares to launch its portable gaming system.
The company’s focus on building both the hardware and software stack positions ARC to develop a dedicated gaming ecosystem around ARC X1, with support for Android gaming, PC-game compatibility and cloud gaming.
-By Shivani Solanki
