Matiks secures $10 million to expand math gaming platform globally

Matiks, an India‑based gaming startup, announced on Monday that it has closed a $10 million pre‑Series A round led by General Catalyst, with participation from Indian entrepreneur Ronnie Screwvala and existing backers InfoEdge Ventures, Tanglin Venture Partners and Untitled Ventures. The funding brings the company’s total capital raised to $13.5 million and will be used to scale its math, logic and puzzle platform.

The raise comes as mobile gaming growth stalls and AI‑generated content floods app stores, leaving many users craving more purposeful entertainment. Over the past decade, head‑to‑head brain games like QuizUp enjoyed brief popularity before battle‑royale titles such as Fortnite took over. Matiks aims to revive the appeal of competitive mental challenges, positioning its offering as a smarter alternative to the “brain slop” that dominates much of today’s digital leisure.

The Matiks app, launched two years ago, has seen rapid traction this year. Daily active users climbed from about 22 000 early in the year to over 300 000 by September, and monthly active users reached 2.2 million in the same month. Founders Sudhanshu Bhatia, Mohan Kumar and Sushant Timmapur, who met in college, built the product around four categories – Math, Puzzle, Memory and Logic – letting players practice against bots before competing with real opponents. The platform includes challenges, quests, streaks and unlockable games, and it recently began testing a subscription that offers game analysis, tips and extra practice tools. In‑app purchases are also available to skip challenges or boost experience points, though early users report minimal ad intrusion.

Matiks plans to use the new capital to localise the app for markets beyond India, where it already sees interest from the United States, South Korea and Japan. The company hopes to grow its international user base while refining its competitive ecosystem to resemble physical sports in its excitement and community feel. If successful, Matiks could signal a shift toward educational‑leaning gaming that blends fun with mental exercise, offering a counterpoint to the AI‑driven content that now dominates many platforms.