How MetaShot Turned a Pandemic Setback into India’s Fastest Growing Homegrown Gaming Console Brand
Amir Ali Shaik
Amir Ali Shaik is a dynamic Indian entrepreneur, actor, and digital strategist based in Bengaluru, India. At just 24 years old, he has emerged as a prominent voice in India’s startup ecosystem and currently serves as the Founder & CEO of Bigshor, a fast-growing digital-first media and growth platform. With over 12 years of experience across the digital economy, Amir has successfully led 250+ projects for startups and MNCs, working with notable brands such as Ninjacart, Perpule, Flohaan, Superior Codelabs, and Bigwayz. He brings deep expertise in digital transformation, helping small and medium enterprises transition from offline to online, while scaling brands through data-driven execution, customer experience optimization, and agile marketing strategies. He has also held senior leadership roles, including Head of Operations at Flohaan, strengthening his operational and CX leadership credentials. Alongside his entrepreneurial journey, Amir is an actor who made his debut with the English short film Broken Shard (2018) and later appeared in notable productions such as The Terrorist (2018) and Bazaar (2019). His work reflects a rare blend of creative storytelling and business acumen. A passionate mentor and community builder, Amir regularly hosts “Marketing Gyaan” workshops and speaks at prestigious institutions such as Christ University, empowering aspiring founders and marketers with practical, real-world insights. He has been recognized among India’s Top 100 Customer Experience (CX) Leaders and was recently honored as a Top Networking Leader at the ET Retail Ecommerce & Digital Natives Summit 2025, underscoring his influence across digital, startup, and leadership ecosystems.
Bengaluru based Gillidanda Tech Pvt. Ltd., the company behind the rapidly growing gaming brand MetaShot, is scripting one of India’s most compelling hardware meets gaming success stories.
What began as a side hustle by three full time professionals, Prince, Ajith and Ranjit, is now emerging as one of the most watched Indian innovations. It is gaining attention in the global sports tech and gaming ecosystem.
Building MetaShot: A Console for the Indian Living Room
In 2021, after months of prototypes, failures and iterations, the team cracked the technology behind a smart cricket bat. This bat is capable of tracking real world shots in real time.
They incorporated Gillidanda Tech Pvt. Ltd. in the same year. This set the foundation for a homegrown gaming console built on Indian R&D and a patent pending sensing technology.
MetaShot’s smart bat syncs with the MetaShot app, turning a user’s living room into a virtual stadium. It allows them to play against AI opponents or players around the world.
The idea sits at the intersection of physical sport, gaming and immersive tech. This is a space Indian startups have barely tapped.
Virality, Customer Love and the First Big Break
When the team began selling early versions in 2023, MetaShot exploded online.
YouTube Shorts alone clocked more than 70 million views, driving massive organic demand for the product.
Around this time, the founders landed a crucial meeting at the 2022 Indian Game Developer Conference with a venture capitalist.
By 2023, MetaShot secured its first institutional backing through a pre seed investment from Inflection Point Ventures.
Retail Expansion and Global Ambition
The year 2024 was when MetaShot moved from a niche innovation to a mainstream retail product.
It launched on Flipkart, Amazon, Blinkit, Instamart, iPlant and several other platforms, rapidly expanding its reach within India.
Soon after, the brand made its first international entry in the UAE.
January 2025 brought MetaShot into the national spotlight.
Shark Tank India, Seed Funding and a Nationwide Buzz
In January 2025, MetaShot was featured on Shark Tank India Season 4. It received investment from Vineeta Singh and Anupam Mittal, a pivotal moment that skyrocketed awareness.
Just weeks later, on 29 January 2025, MetaShot raised INR 11 crore in a seed round led by Sauce.vc. There was participation from Sharrp Ventures and Panthera Peak Capital.
The same year, MetaShot officially began selling in the USA, marking a major step in global scaling.
Backed by Government Support and a New Product Line
In June 2025, the Government of Karnataka, through the KITVEN Fund, invested in MetaShot. This investment is a testament to the company’s credibility, innovation and long term potential.
Two months later, MetaShot launched its second product, the MetaShot GO Bat. This product is an affordable, mass adoption focused SKU designed to bring immersive cricket gaming to a wider audience.
A Platform Vision Beyond Cricket
At its core, MetaShot is not just a cricket gadget. It is a platform vision.
The company aims to merge physical play and virtual gaming across multiple sports.
With a 30 member team, a patent pending hardware innovation and a fast growing user base, MetaShot is positioning itself as India’s answer to the Nintendo Wii. This is built for Indian homes, by Indian engineers, for global markets.
As sports tech, gaming and mixed reality converge, MetaShot represents a new generation of Indian hardware startups. They are ambitious, consumer focused and ready to take on the world.
Amir Ali Shaik
Amir Ali Shaik is a dynamic Indian entrepreneur, actor, and digital strategist based in Bengaluru, India. At just 24 years old, he has emerged as a prominent voice in India’s startup ecosystem and currently serves as the Founder & CEO of Bigshor, a fast-growing digital-first media and growth platform. With over 12 years of experience across the digital economy, Amir has successfully led 250+ projects for startups and MNCs, working with notable brands such as Ninjacart, Perpule, Flohaan, Superior Codelabs, and Bigwayz. He brings deep expertise in digital transformation, helping small and medium enterprises transition from offline to online, while scaling brands through data-driven execution, customer experience optimization, and agile marketing strategies. He has also held senior leadership roles, including Head of Operations at Flohaan, strengthening his operational and CX leadership credentials. Alongside his entrepreneurial journey, Amir is an actor who made his debut with the English short film Broken Shard (2018) and later appeared in notable productions such as The Terrorist (2018) and Bazaar (2019). His work reflects a rare blend of creative storytelling and business acumen. A passionate mentor and community builder, Amir regularly hosts “Marketing Gyaan” workshops and speaks at prestigious institutions such as Christ University, empowering aspiring founders and marketers with practical, real-world insights. He has been recognized among India’s Top 100 Customer Experience (CX) Leaders and was recently honored as a Top Networking Leader at the ET Retail Ecommerce & Digital Natives Summit 2025, underscoring his influence across digital, startup, and leadership ecosystems.
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