Sports retail startup PlayBlue has raised $2.7 million (₹25.7 crore) in a seed funding round co-led by Centre Court Capital and MIXI Global, with participation from WEH Ventures, the company announced. Founded in 2025 by former GMR Sports CEO Satyam Trivedi and ex-Cult.fit executive Jayam Vora, PlayBlue plans to use the capital to launch flagship stores and a pan-India ecommerce platform.
The startup aims to establish a network of 150 stores over the next five years and build a community exceeding 10 million users. PlayBlue operates as an omnichannel multi-brand sports retail platform, offering athleisure, footwear, gear, fitness equipment, recovery products, and nutrition through both physical stores and online channels. Vora highlighted the opportunity in India’s sports and active lifestyle market, which is projected to surpass $30 billion by 2035.
PlayBlue enters a competitive market with established players like Decathlon and emerging brands such as SportsJam, Heelium, and Agilitas. The company targets ₹100 crore in revenue and operational profitability by its next fundraising round. Investor interest in sports-focused brands has been rising recently, reflecting confidence in the sector’s growth potential and the need for expanded retail touchpoints across India.
PlayBlue’s seed funding round marks a significant step in its expansion strategy, with plans to open its first flagship stores and launch its ecommerce platform this year. The company’s goal to build 150 stores and a user base of over 10 million aligns with its vision to capture a growing share of India’s sports retail market, which requires more than 15,000 new retail touchpoints by 2035, according to Vora.