Türkiye-based mobile game studio Mindtail has closed a $2 million pre-seed funding round led by APY Ventures, with participation from Inveo Ventures and Ak Portföy GSYF.
Mindtail plans to use the fresh capital to expand its team, further develop its AI-native production infrastructure, and accelerate marketing tests. The company also aims to triple the size of its team in the short term, while preparing to announce its first game in the near future.
Founded by R. Tamer Özgen, Umut Yıldız, Sarper Karabağ, and Doğuşcan Öztürk, Mindtail is focused on building the next generation of hybrid casual puzzle games through an AI-supported production model. The founding team brings together experience from major gaming companies including Dream Games, King, Tactile, Ace Games, and Codeway.
The studio’s Art Director, Ece Özgüle, and the wider team have previously contributed to globally successful titles such as Royal Match, Royal Kingdom, Lily’s Garden, Candy Crush Soda Saga, and the Braindom franchise, helping these games reach hundreds of millions of players worldwide.
Commenting on the investment, APY Ventures Fund Manager Mustafa Keçeli said Mindtail stands out for treating game development not only as a creative discipline, but also as a capital-efficiency challenge powered by strong production architecture and timing. He added that embedding AI-native production into the company’s DNA from day one gives the studio a significant advantage in the highly competitive hit-driven gaming market.
Haluk Nişli from Inveo Ventures stated that the Turkish gaming ecosystem is entering a new global era, highlighting Mindtail’s strong collaboration culture, product expertise, and rapid prototyping capabilities as key differentiators.
Meanwhile, Hüseyin Çelik from Ak Portföy GSYF noted that Mindtail’s internationally experienced founding team and AI-focused production approach position the startup among the new generation of gaming companies emerging from Türkiye’s thriving gaming ecosystem.
Mindtail Co-Founder and CEO R. Tamer Özgen said the funding round represents the culmination of years of shared experience across the founding team. He added that the company aims to create a new standard in the hybrid casual puzzle category by combining lessons learned from products that reached hundreds of millions of users with an AI-native production model.
Source: egririsim.com
