Billionaire Peter Lim’s ZujuGP buys Tokigames as digital platform pursues online football gamification

ZujuGP – co-founded by billionaire Peter Lim and his son Kiat Lim – has acquired the team behind Tokigames as the digital football platform seeks to gamify the sport for online fans.

As part of the deal, Tokigames founders Mervyn Lau, Benedict Goh, Matthews Chang and Warren Goh and their 10 employees will join ZujuDigital to drive gamification of the digital football platform which is also backed by Cristiano Ronaldo from Manchester United.

The acquisition will enable ZujuGP to develop and deliver rich and immersive digital experiences and activities to football fans around the world, ZujuGP said in a statement. “ZujuGP has found kindred spirits in Merv, Ben, Matt and Warren,” said Kiat Lim, co-founder of ZujuGP. “I’m happy that they see a really exciting opportunity in the ZujuGP and believe in our vision for the future of football.”

Tokigames, which enables sports brands to interactively engage audiences online, previously raised $4.25 million in a seed funding round to develop digital apps for ONE Esports and AFTV.

Launched in October last year, ZujuGP aims to digitize the live gaming experience for fans by providing entertainment, networking and e-commerce options. It will also create an ecosystem of services allowing teams to recruit players, club staff, train and mentor aspiring players through its AI-powered open-source platform.

The venture is one of many initiatives launched by Kiat Lim over the past six months. In January, Lim teamed up with Elroy Cheo, a scion of the family that owns edible oil company Mewah International, to create ARC, a private digital community for next-generation entrepreneurs on a platform powered by blockchain technology. The following month, Lim launched the world’s first Decentralized Autonomous Organization (DAO) for professional football, dubbed CO92 DAO, to allow fans to own a stake in the popular sport.

Kiat and his father Peter are big football fans. The eldest Lim, 68, is the owner of Spanish soccer team Valencia. With a net worth of $2.6 billion, Lim was ranked No. 15 when Singapore’s 50 richest list was released in August. He has invested in property, healthcare and sports after cashing in on palm oil giant Wilmar more than a decade ago. Lim has recently ventured into education, partnering with top UK boarding schools Wellington Colleges to set up international schools in Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore in the next few years.