HiQ Reaches Over 2 Million Downloads; Plans Expansion on Its 2MM Downloads by Partnering up With Tally to Bring Live Prediction Questions to the Indian Premier League (IPL) Cricket Tournament
Press Release
TORONTO–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Facedrive Inc. (“Facedrive”) (TSXV: FD), a Canadian “people-and-planet-first” tech ecosystem, is delighted to announce that the HiQ App (the “App”), a platform developed by Facedrive’s wholly-owned subsidiary HiRide Share Ltd. (“HiRide”), a socially-responsible peer-to-peer platform offering innovative transportation and communication solutions, is partnering with Tally Technology Group Inc. (“Tally,” https://www.playtally.com/), a white-label, free-to-play sports predictions platform founded by Superbowl-winning quarterback Russell Wilson and Jason LeeKeenan, to bring live prediction gaming questions to audiences of the Indian Premier League (IPL) Cricket tournament (in the Asian market), which has enjoyed an average viewership of 32.2m per game in 2019 and 39m in 2020 (Times of India).
Socialization Platform
HiRide’s HiQ Social App is a socialization platform that invites users to stay connected while practicing social distancing, and encourages interactions based on common interests. The App continuously demonstrates growing international popularity and has recently surpassed a key milestone of 2 million downloads. One of its newest features, “Communities”, which offers users the ability to interact with other like-minded users through AI based algorithms, has seen tremendous growth in the last month surpassing 15,000+ active communities. The unique concept of pairing trivia games with live interactions with multiple communities globally has made HiQ a premium provider in social gaming and opened avenues for meaningful collaborations with global partners such as Tally.
Background
In August 2020, Facedrive completed a sign-and-close definitive agreement to invest in and partner with Tally (the “Partnership”) through various initiatives. The Partnership signals strong commercial potential, as it combines Facedrive’s growing presence in the global markets with Tally’s track record as the premier tech solution selected for boosting viewer engagement by the NFL, NHL, and NBA teams.
Synergies and Opportunities
“We are excited to partner up with the Facedrive team to create a unique cricket experience for users in India. IPL fans will have the opportunity to put their cricket knowledge to test and compete with fans around the world. This is a great opportunity for us to expand into a new sporting league.” said Bradley Vettese CEO of Tally Technology Group Inc.
The joint project by for the IPL tournament marks the first milestone of the Partnership among Tally and Facedrive’s HiRide. In light of the global pandemic, cricket fans in the Asian market are unable to attend live games. As result, the parties are confident that gamification and online fan engagement are the clear future of the sports and entertainment industries, and the introduction of live prediction gaming questions will allow both companies to better engage with the audience during the IPL tournament. Free-to-play prediction games ahead of each match will allow fans to guess the outcomes of the IPL tournament’s 20+ games and use a global leaderboard to compete with other users for a chance to win cash prizes.
“We are really excited to work with the Tally team to bring live gaming prediction questions to the IPL tournament. This is a huge opportunity for us to further penetrate the Asian market and provide another layer of value to our user base worldwide,” said Sayan Navaratnam, CEO and Chairman of Facedrive.
“We are thrilled to start this partnership with Tally and bring this fun and innovative product to our user base in Asia. Through this partnership, IPL fans would get an enhanced experience watching the game and getting an opportunity to compete with cricket fans all around the world.” said Akshat Soni, CEO of HiRide.
About Facedrive
Facedrive is a multi-faceted “people-and-planet first” tech ecosystem offering socially-responsible services to local communities with a strong commitment to doing business fairly, equitably and sustainably. As part of this commitment, Facedrive’s vision is to fulfil its mandate through a number of verticals that either leverage existing technologies of the Company or project considerable synergies with existing lines of business (the “Facedrive Verticals”). The Facedrive Verticals include its rideshare business (“Facedrive Rideshare”), sustainable e-commerce platform (“Facedrive Marketplace”), food-delivery service (“Facedrive Foods”), social media platform (“Facedrive Social”) andits contact-tracing and sustainable health services business (“Facedrive Health”). Facedrive Rideshare was the first to offer green transportation solutions in the TaaS space, planting thousands of trees and giving users a choice between EVs, hybrids and conventional vehicles. Facedrive Marketplace offers curated merchandise created from sustainably sourced materials. Facedrive Foods offers contactless deliveries of a wide variety of foods with the focus on healthy foods right to consumers’ doorsteps. Facedrive Health develops innovative technological solutions to the most acute health challenges of the day. Facedrive is changing the ridesharing, food delivery, e-commerce and health tech narratives for the better, for everyone. For more about Facedrive, visit www.facedrive.com.
About Tally
The Tally technology platform presents a complete, state-of-the-art solution supporting the creation and delivery of partner-branded, free-to-play prediction games for sports fans all around the world. The technology consists of a robust game authoring and validation tool, a mobile-first app for fans, and a comprehensive analytics portal for partners. Built to be configurable, Tally’s modular system enables a wide range of game formats based on partner’s preferences, is easy to integrate with other apps and accessible from all types of devices. For more about Tally, visit https://www.playtally.com/.
Forward-Looking Information
Certain information in this press release contains forward-looking information. This information is based on management’s reasonable assumptions and beliefs in light of the information currently available to us and are made as of the date of this press release. Actual results and the timing of events may differ materially from those anticipated in the forward-looking information as a result of various factors, including those pertaining to the widespread adoption and engagement of Facedrive socialization platforms by fans and the extent to which the future of the sports and entertainment industries will rely on gamification and online fan engagement. Information regarding our expectations of future results, performance, achievements, prospects or opportunities or the markets in which we operate is forward-looking information. Statements containing forward-looking information are not facts but instead represent management’s expectations, estimates and projections regarding future events or circumstances. Many factors could cause our actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements or future events or developments to differ materially from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements.
See “Forward-Looking Information” and “Risk Factors” in Facedrive’s Filing Statement dated August 28, 2019 for a discussion of the uncertainties, risks and assumptions associated with these statements. Readers are urged to consider the uncertainties, risks and assumptions carefully in evaluating the forward-looking information and are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such information. We have no intention and undertake no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by applicable securities law.
Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
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