Matiks raises $10M pre-Series A to expand its math and puzzle gaming platform, capitalizing on 300K daily users and plans for global growth.
From Niche to Mainstream: Matiks' Meteoric Rise
In an era where mobile gaming growth has slowed and AI-generated content floods platforms, Matiks is carving out a distinct niche with its math, logic, and brain game puzzle platform. The India-based startup has seen explosive growth this year, with daily active users surging from 22,000 earlier in the year to over 300,000 by September. Monthly active users reached 2.2 million in that same month, a testament to the app's growing appeal.
Founded by college friends Sudhanshu Bhatia, Mohan Kumar, and Sushant Timmapur, Matiks began as a side project while Bhatia was working on anti-money laundering strategies at American Express. With a background in competitive mental math, Bhatia recognized the potential for a competitive ecosystem around math and puzzles. "For the last 10 years, the platforms have made entertainment consumption easy, but much of it is brain slop," Bhatia told TechCrunch. "We started exploring how we can make math-related games fun and entertaining like the other content."
Funding Round and Investor Confidence
The $10 million pre-Series A round was led by General Catalyst, with participation from Indian entrepreneur Ronnie Screwvala and existing investors Info Edge Ventures, Tanglin Venture Partners, and Untitled Ventures. This brings Matiks' total funding to over $13.5 million. The fresh capital will be used to scale the platform, expand into new markets, and further develop its experimental game creation platform, Jelo.
"Since I've had this background in mental math, I knew that a competitive ecosystem exists there. We got to know that the same exists for puzzles and memory. We wanted to make our app as entertaining as physical sports, so we opted for a dual format," said Bhatia.
Gameplay and Monetization Strategy
Matiks offers four categories: Math, Puzzle, Memory, and Logic. Users can practice against bots before competing against real players, and can engage in challenges and quests to earn points, maintain streaks, and unlock new games. The app has been praised for its non-intrusive monetization approach, avoiding aggressive ad pop-ups and in-game purchase pushes.
Until now, Matiks has focused on user growth, but it recently began testing a subscription model that unlocks game analysis, tips and tricks, practice modes, and additional features. In-game purchases allow users to skip challenges, maintain streaks, and boost XP points. While the majority of players are in India, the startup has seen traction in the U.S., South Korea, and Japan, and plans to localize for the latter two markets.
Jelo: A Platform for User-Generated Games
While Matiks positions itself against AI slop, it isn't rejecting AI entirely. The company has debuted an experimental game creation platform called Jelo, which lets users create their own games and share them with others. This move puts Matiks in competition with Google's new platform, Playground, and others in the user-generated content space.
With 41 full-time employees, Matiks aims to use the funding to scale Jelo and expand into newer markets. The startup's growth and fresh capital signal investor confidence in its ability to blend entertainment with cognitive skill-building, offering a refreshing alternative to passive content consumption.