Social gaming platform Zupee has acquired Nucanon, an Australian AI startup, to launch a new storytelling division. The deal amount has not been revealed.
As reported by ANI, Nucanon’s founding team will move to Zupee’s headquarters in India and will lead the company’s new projects focused on interactive storytelling.
The acquisition will allow Zupee to add Nucanon’s narrative engine to its gaming platform. This integration will let creators design rich, story-driven experiences for players.
The narrative engine supports dynamic storytelling, where players’ choices shape the story. Characters can remember past interactions, and storylines change and evolve in real time based on user decisions.
After India placed restrictions on real-money gaming, Zupee shifted its focus to social and casual games. The company has also been testing subscription models like Zupee Plus and creating short-form content through Zupee Studio.
With this acquisition, Zupee aims to expand its product, technology, and design teams and get ready to launch new story-based gaming experiences in both India and international markets.
Zupee was founded in 2018 by Dilsher Malhi and Siddhant Saurabh. It was once one of the leading companies in the real-money gaming space, with over 150 million registered users.
In September, Zupee laid off around 170 employees, which was about 30% of its total staff, as part of a major restructuring plan to reshape the business.
In FY24, Zupee’s revenue grew by 35% compared to the previous year, reaching INR 1,123 crore. The company also became profitable, earning a net profit of INR 146 crore. Its financial results for FY25 have not been released yet.
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