Three Indian college friends who developed a mobile app to make mathematics and puzzles entertaining have raised $10 million in fresh funding after attracting millions of players.
Indian entrepreneur Ronnie Screwvala also participated, alongside existing investors Info Edge Ventures, Tanglin Venture Partners and Untitled Ventures. Bhatia, who has a background in competitive mental maths, began exploring the idea while working on an anti-money laundering strategy at American Express. The latest investment brings Matiks’ total funding to more than $13.5 million. Founded in 2024, Matiks was developed to make mental challenges as entertaining as traditional mobile games.
(Also read: Sarvam AI co-founder warns India risks becoming a ‘digital colony’ over dependence on foreign AI ) The Bengaluru-based startup Matiks, founded by Sudhanshu Bhatia, Mohan Kumar and Sushant Timmapur, secured the investment in a pre-Series A funding round led by General Catalyst, according to a TechCrunch report. “For the last 10 years, the platforms have made entertainment consumption easy, but much of it is brain slop,” Bhatia told TechCrunch.
App attracts millions of users
Matiks has witnessed significant growth in 2026, with daily active users increasing from approximately 22,000 earlier in the year to more than 300,000 by September. The platform also recorded 2.2 million monthly active users in September, during which users played 48 million games, according to Entrepreneur India . The company plans to introduce localised experiences to strengthen its international presence. (Also read: ‘One person using AI can do the work of 10’: Zoho founder Sridhar Vembu warns of job risks ) Matiks has begun testing paid subscriptions offering game analysis, practice tools and additional features. With 41 full-time employees, the company plans to use the funding to expand internationally and develop its gaming ecosystem.
The startup has introduced Jelo, an experimental platform that allows users to create games for others to play. The founders wanted to offer an alternative to passive scrolling by allowing users to compete in mathematics, memory, logic and puzzle-based games. Players can practise against computer-controlled opponents before challenging real competitors. The app also features daily challenges, rewards, quests and streaks to encourage regular participation. Matiks has attracted players from the United States, South Korea and Japan Although most users are based in India. Users can also make in-app purchases. Interestingly, despite positioning itself as an alternative to low-quality AI-generated content, Matiks is also exploring AI-powered game creation.
General Catalyst partner Rahul Humayun told TechCrunch that strong user engagement and the team’s rapid product development had strengthened the investor’s confidence in Matiks.
