How Unikrn uses blockchain and cryptocurrency for esports betting

Posted byby Dean Takahashi
February 4, 2018
Updated June 20, 2025
16 min

Rahul Sood made his name as an enthusiast gamer and the cofounder of VoodooPC, a maker of custom gaming PCs that he started in 1991. He sold that business to HP in 2006, and he headed HP’s efforts in gaming computers through 2010.

He moved to Microsoft and started Microsoft Ventures in 2013. In 2014, he left to start Unikrn with cofounder Karl Flores. Unikrn enabled betting on esports events. Esports has become a hot industry, with market researcher Newzoo estimating it could hit $1.5 billion to $2.5 billion in revenues by 2020. While Sood has moved on from gaming hardware into gambling, he feels he is still focused on enthusiasts.

Unlock premium content and VIP community perks with GB M A X! Join now to enjoy our free and premium perks.

Join now →

Sign in to your account.

Written by

Dean Takahashi

Dean Takahashi is editorial director for GamesBeat. He has been a tech journalist since 1988, and he has covered games as a beat since 1996. He was lead writer for GamesBeat at VentureBeat from 2008 to April 2025. Prior to that, he wrote for the San Jose Mercury News, the Red Herring, the Wall Street Journal, the Los Angeles Times, and the Dallas Times-Herald. He is the author of two books, "Opening the Xbox" and "The Xbox 360 Uncloaked." He organizes the annual GamesBeat Next, GamesBeat Summit and GamesBeat Insider Series: Hollywood and Games conferences and is a frequent speaker at gaming and tech events. He lives in the San Francisco Bay Area.