Serial Startup Founders Build World's First Embedded Game Commerce Company

In the fast-evolving gaming world, where innovation is king, and the next big thing is just around the corner, two Indian serial entrepreneurs are turning heads.

Vijay Singh and Mritunjay Srivastava, with their startup Trophée, are making waves by introducing an innovative and all-new category in the gaming space called “Game Commerce”—a fusion of mobile gaming and online shopping that promises a new, immersing commerce-led experience for players and brands.

This new ‘game commerce’ technology goes beyond the standard integrated webshops placed within games.

Trophée’s groundbreaking innovation, 'game commerce,' is a novel approach to monetising games and enhancing brand engagement.

Unlike traditional ad formats as defined by the IAB (Interactive Advertising Bureau)—such as 'in-game,' 'around the game,' and 'away from the game'—which are primarily ad-focused, intrusive, and restrict brands to basic metrics, Trophée introduces a groundbreaking technology centred on real-world commerce.

This unique approach is consumer-controlled and consumer-initiated, delivering a seamlessly integrated, end-to-end shopping experience within the gameplay itself.

In a world where brands jostle for attention in the vast, digital landscape, Trophée is poised to revolutionise the sector not just by uplifting game monetisation, but also the advertising-led commerce as we know it.

The Birth Of An Idea:

It all began amid the COVID-19 pandemic in late 2020, during a virtual Y Combinator conference where Vijay Singh, a seasoned entrepreneur & innovator, crossed paths with Mritunjay Srivastava, a young tech prodigy.

“We instantly clicked and knew that our combined experiences and passion for innovation in gaming could create something transformative,” recalls Vijay, the CEO & co-founder of Trophée, in an exclusive interview with Startup Pedia.

By 2022, Vijay’s former venture, NATIVV, which worked in the intrinsic in-game advertising space, was acquired by an Australian advertising company, but the duo quickly realised the game developers' problem statement, the growing expectations of global brands & new-generation consumers from gaming ecosystem, and limitations of traditional game advertising.

“Advertisers want a deeper engagement beyond the basic metrics like attention and viewability, not just views, and gamers want experiences, not interruptions,” Mritunjay, the CTO & co-founder of Trophée, explains to Startup Pedia.

They saw a gap in the market: the need for a seamless, gamer-driven shopping experience that didn’t disrupt gameplay and, at the same time, uplifted the monetisation and other key metrics for game developers.

Thus, the idea of Trophée was born—a platform designed to enable players to shop for real-world products without ever leaving the game.

The Challenging Transition From Nativv To Trophée:

Building Trophée wasn’t without its share of obstacles. Even after NATIVV’s acquisition, the founders' passion for more impactful innovation lingered on.

“Our continued research and work in the gaming industry made us realise what wasn’t working well for all the stakeholders of the industry,” Vijay reflects.

The founders learned that players were tired of forced ads disrupting gameplay, and brands advertising on the games wanted more than awareness—they wanted deeper and real-time engagement, genuine leads, and sales.

Gradually, their resolve crystallised. Starting in May 2024, Vijay began working with his team to develop Trophée's first prototype while gathering valuable feedback from developers, advertisers, and veteran gamers.

A few months later, when Mritunjay joined Trophée, they streamlined the development process as a founding team to create a fully-fledged product.

“The response we got from the ecosystem was overwhelmingly positive and highly encouraging,” Mritunjay says.

Bolstered by this validation, a clearer vision, and invaluable insights from past learnings, Trophée officially came to life as a cutting-edge startup.

Trophée’s Game Commerce Platform In Detail:

The core of Trophée’s innovation lies in its frictionless approach to immersing & embedded shopping within gameplay.

Mobile gamers can now interact with a brand’s products embedded within their gameplay and initiate the commerce experience in online games based on their choice, bridging the digital and real worlds in a way that is subtle yet powerful.

“It's a gamer-initiated commerce experience unlike the regular ad formats which are pushed to the gamers,” Vijay adds.

Here’s what makes Trophée a true game-changer:-

• • Consent-Led Commerce: Unlike intrusive ads, Trophée’s approach is entirely gamer-driven. Players see an embedded product, perhaps a trendy jacket on their gameplay or a refreshing cola beverage, and can choose to interact. This sense of control is critical, making shopping an enjoyable, consensual experience, not a forced one.

  • Purchasing without Interruptions: Once engaged, the player can browse product options, view prices, and make purchases—all without leaving the game environment. This revolutionary approach offers fluidity and convenience that Vijay believes will be a game changer for the retail industry within the gaming space.
    

  • Social Sharing: Trophée even allows players to share these products and offers with friends directly from the gameplay, enhancing social interaction. “It’s like window-shopping with friends but in a virtual world, and it taps into the social nature of Gen Z and Gen Alpha, who greatly value shared experiences in the digital world,” Mritunjay adds.

  • Premium Monetisation for Brands and Game Developers: Brands now have a fresh and innovative way to deeply engage with consumers, and game developers gain a lucrative, incremental, and premium revenue source without compromising user experience. It’s a win-win proposition for brands, game developers and gamers.

Behind The Scenes Of Trophée’s Transformative Innovation:

Trophée operates on the idea of “connected commerce,” where products are seamlessly woven into gameplay, creating a unique shopping environment that neither distracts nor detracts from the gaming experience.

Unlike traditional & existing game advertising models, which are primarily ads-focused models that require players to watch ads in exchange for rewards and benefits, Trophée’s commerce experience is built on voluntary engagement and offers exciting wins to gamers for every interaction they make within the gameplay. 

To make this possible, the Trophée team harnesses innovative technology, combining elements of artificial intelligence, product placements, and seamless payment integration.

Here’s how Trophée ensures a smooth and interactive game commerce experience::-

• Integrated Catalogue: Every Trophée-enabled game has a catalogue that offers product details, discounts, and exclusive offers, all viewable without navigating away.
• Immersing Product Placement: Each product appearance is embedded naturally within the game environment, enhancing the immersing quality of gameplay, unlike the IAB-defined existing ad formats, which are totally ads-focused and less effective. For game developers and publishers, integrating the Trophèe solution is a seamless plug-and-play solution. It's scalable and customised.
• Effortless Shopping & Payments: Trophée allows users to make purchases with just a few taps on the screen, eliminating the friction of external links or app changes. Gamers are not redirected to any external pages or webshops. 

“Traditional ads break the gameplay and engagement between brands & consumers. With Trophée, players consciously engage and feel like they are interacting with a natural part of the game world, making purchases more organic,” Vijay says to Startup Pedia.

Eyes On The Future:

Currently, Trophée is following an ambitious goal of reshaping and streamlining the ‘game commerce’ space and educating the market about it.

“India is our first battleground right now, but the potential is global. At heart, we are a ‘Made in India, for the World’ company,” shares Vijay.

The startup has started exploring potential partnerships with brands, agencies, and game publishers in the markets like Middle East, Southeast Asia, and the US, besides establishing a strong presence in India.

With over 442 million gamers in India alone, the domestic market is enormous, and the co-founders aim to take full advantage of this fast-growing ecosystem.

The founders are keenly aware of the challenges ahead, particularly in educating both game developers and brands about this innovative form of digital commerce platform.

However, they are rightly optimistic, especially as the gaming industry is projected to grow to $8.92 billion in India over the next five years.

“Our goal is to become synonymous with gaming commerce. If a brand wants to enter the gaming space, desires a deeper engagement, and wants a commerce-led experience, then Trophée should be the go-to platform,” Vijay shares.

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As Trophée gears up to scale, the co-founders are laser-focused on two critical areas: creating partnerships with game developers and increasing brand collaborations. For the concept of gaming commerce to thrive, a delicate balance is needed.

“We’ve built a great product for this emerging market and the success of our platform hinges on getting the right mix of brands and game developers,” Mritunjay admits.

“In this pursuit, we’re also looking to raise funding from investors who understand both tech innovation and gaming. The funds will help us expand our team, refine our product, and scale into new markets,” Vijay adds to Mritunjay’s point.

In A Nutshell - Trophée’s Journey Of Reimagining Online Shopping:

With a rapidly changing landscape of entertainment and digital shopping habits of Gen Z, who form the major chunk of the current mobile gaming populace, Trophée stands at a crossroads where commerce meets innovation.

The bootstrapped startup embodies the promise of a new era—one where shopping and gaming blend to create a uniquely interactive experience and open the door for global brands to engage with gamers in a meaningful way.

From their vision to their execution, the new-gen innovators-cum-entrepreneurs Vijay Singh and Mritunjay Srivastava have crafted a brand that resonates not just as a game changer but as a symbol of what’s possible in the Indian startup ecosystem.

As Trophée eyes the future, it promises to leave a mark on the global gaming industry—one tap, one purchase, one game at a time.

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