Turkish mobile games studio Mindtail has secured $2 million in pre-seed investment. APY Ventures led the round. Inveo Ventures and Ak Portföy GSYF also participated.
The studio will use the funding to grow its headcount, build AI-based production infrastructure, and carry out early marketing tests. Mindtail is working towards roughly tripling the size of its team in the near term. An announcement on its first game is expected soon.
Production efficiency through AI in hybrid casual puzzle games
Mindtail was founded by R. Tamer Özgen, Umut Yıldız, Sarper Karabağ, and Doğuşcan Öztürk. The studio targets the hybrid casual puzzle market and uses an AI-powered production model to keep iteration costs low. The founders bring direct experience from Dream Games, King, Tactile, Ace Games, and Codeway, where they worked on Royal Match, Royal Kingdom, Lily’s Garden, Candy Crush Soda, and the Braindom series. These titles have been played by hundreds of millions of users. Ece Özgüle leads the studio’s art direction.
Keçeli: “Game production as a capital efficiency game”
APY Ventures Fund Manager Mustafa Keçeli said: “What sets Mindtail apart is a founding philosophy that views game-making not just as a creative discipline, but as a capital efficiency game — where economics, production architecture, and timing align. A team with critical roles in globally successful titles placing AI-native production at the core of the company’s DNA from day one turns the per-iteration economic disadvantage of a hit-driven category into an advantage.”
Inveo Ventures’ Haluk Nişli noted: “Mindtail’s track record of working together, depth in product and growth, and rapid prototyping culture reflect what differentiating studios need in this new era. We’re proud to be among the first investors to back this newly founded studio.”
Ak Portföy GSYF’s Hüseyin Çelik added: “Mindtail stands out with its internationally proven founding team and AI-driven production approach. Türkiye’s recent billion-dollar exits clearly demonstrate the ecosystem’s global potential, and we believe Mindtail will be a major player as the AI transformation accelerates.”
Özgen: “Aiming to set a new standard”
Mindtail Co-Founder and CEO R. Tamer Özgen said: “This round is the moment our collective experience materializes. We aim to combine what we’ve learned from products serving hundreds of millions of players with an AI-native production model to set a new standard in hybrid casual puzzle. We’ve also created a meaningful option pool for those joining us — founder-employee alignment from day one is a top priority.”
About Mindtail
An Istanbul-based mobile gaming studio building hybrid casual puzzle games with an AI-native production model.
