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Mobile gaming studio Spill Games has raised $10.5 Mn (about ₹100 Cr) in a Series A round led by Elevation Capital, with participation from existing investors Centre Court Capital and PeerCapital. The Bengaluru-based startup said it would use the fresh capital to scale its existing games, expand its development pipeline, strengthen the AI and technology capabilities of its Compass engine, acquire users, and selectively grow its team. Founded in 2024 by Om Misra, Tapan Ranjan, and Harsh Garg, the gaming startup builds free-to-play casual, puzzle, and hybrid-casual mobile games for global audiences using an AI-led, portfolio-driven studio model. Its in-house engine, Compass, brings together tools for analytics, player retention, monetisation, and live operations. The startup said this lets it reuse infrastructure across games and shorten the time taken to develop and test new concepts. It is targeting development speeds of roughly 4X those of traditional approaches. Spill launches games quickly to test its initial assumptions, then uses player feedback and in-game data to refine them. It directs more resources towards titles that show potential to scale globally. Its portfolio now comprises six games, including Cozy Finds, Sticker by Number, Zen Math Crossword, Bird Rescue Jam, and Grill Master. The startup monetises its games through advertising and in-app purchases. The fresh funding comes months after the startup raised $3.1 Mn (around ₹28 Cr) in its seed funding round in April. At the time, it said that around 50% of its user base originated from the US, followed by Brazil (15%) and Japan (10%). The startup said then that it was aiming to test over 20 prototypes in the next 18 months and was targeting to launch 5-10 profitable new titles. Gaming Beyond Real Money Spill’s fundraise also comes amid changes in India’s gaming industry following the government’s ban on real-money gaming. Separately, in May, the Supreme Court upheld the 28% GST levy on the full face value of online gaming bets, backing tax demands on past transactions. Spill’s advertising and in-app purchase model places it in a different segment from platforms that rely on real-money wagers. Other studios building games outside RMG have also attracted investors. In August, cricketer Rohit Sharma joined LightFury Games as an investor, alongside MS Dhoni, Jasprit Bumrah, and Hardik Pandya, among others. At the time, LightFury said it planned to begin a phased closed beta rollout of its flagship eCricket game in September. The developments come against the backdrop of a large domestic gaming audience. Speaking at the India Mobile Congress last week, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said more than 50 Cr Indians are estimated to be connected to the gaming ecosystem, with growing participation among young people in Tier II and III cities. He said participation extends beyond playing games to competing in esports, creating gaming content, and building gaming businesses.
document fetched 2026-10-15 03:00 · canonical https://inc42.com/buzz/spill-games-raises-10-5-mn-to-scale-ai-led-mobile-gaming-studio