Mindtail, a mobile games studio in Istanbul, has completed a $2 million pre-seed round. APY Ventures led the investment. Inveo Ventures and Ak Portföy GSYF also contributed to the round.
The funds will support three priorities: hiring, AI-based production infrastructure, and marketing tests. Mindtail plans to grow its team to roughly three times its present size in the near term. The studio will name its first game in an announcement expected soon.
An AI-powered approach to hybrid casual puzzle games
R. Tamer Özgen, Umut Yıldız, Sarper Karabağ, and Doğuşcan Öztürk founded Mindtail. The studio builds hybrid casual puzzle games using AI tools embedded in its production process. Before Mindtail, the founders worked in product, growth, and development roles at Dream Games, King, Tactile, Ace Games, and Codeway, contributing to games such as Royal Match, Royal Kingdom, Lily’s Garden, Candy Crush Soda, and the Braindom series. These titles have collectively reached hundreds of millions of players. Ece Özgüle serves as the studio’s Art Director.
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.
Who invested in the Istanbul mobile gaming studio Mindtail?
Mindtail’s $2 million pre-seed investment round was led by prominent fund manager APY Ventures. Strategic financial contributions were also provided by Inveo Ventures and Ak Portföy GSYF. The capital infusion is explicitly designated to support core team hiring, engineering their AI-based production framework, and accelerating early marketing tests.
What makes Mindtail’s approach to puzzle games different?
Mindtail differentiates itself by integrating an AI-native approach directly into the production process from day one. Led by a veteran founding team with experience building hits like Royal Match and Candy Crush Soda, the studio treats development as a capital efficiency model. Using AI tools for rapid prototyping allows them to minimize typical economic disadvantages in hit-driven gaming categories.