QuriousBit gets $2M funding to put India on global map of hit puzzle games

• QuriousBit  founder aims to build a world class gaming studio based out of India to entertain global audiences.

Bengaluru based gaming startup – QuriousBit  – has secured a $2 million in seed funding to put India on the global map of hit puzzle games.

The funding round was led by Lumikai with General Catalyst joining as co-investors. 

The company aims to utilise the funds from this seed round to create a new benchmark in innovative puzzle games built in India for global audiences.

The founders – Ramakrishna Reddy Y L and Shubham Joshi – will be investing heavily in curating a stellar team to build a high-quality casual mobile gaming studio. 

 “We see a huge opportunity in casual puzzle games beyond match-3 and blast genres. We believe some of these genres are ripe to disrupt with innovative core gameplay mechanics and deeper narratives. Our aim is to build a world class gaming studio based out of India, entertaining global audiences. Lumikai and General Catalyst partnering with us in this journey positions us well to achieve it,” Ramakrishna Reddy Y L, Founder of QuriousBit, said.

Global market value

The global mobile casual games market is worth about $18 billion in 2023, and is expected to grow 1.4 times to $25 billion in 2027.

Over the last few years, the gaming industry has seen the dominance of certain match3 games in the puzzle genre, with limited breakouts beyond match3 and blast themed games.   

“A fresh and innovative approach both in game design and distribution is imperative to achieve category leading success in the highly competitive global casual gaming market given current market conditions. Ram and Shubham’s deep thinking, category expertise, and design orientation deeply impressed us,” Salone Sehgal, Founding General Partner, Lumikai, said.

Deep expertise

The founders have built games that have amassed over 125 million installations and generated combined revenue of over $350 million, including seven titles with positive EBITDA margins.

Prior to establishing QuriousBit, Ram held the position of Assistant General Manager at PlaySimple Games, a global leader in word games, which was acquired by MTG for over $500 million in 2021.

Meanwhile, Shubham served as the Principal Software Engineer at PlaySimple Games. 

“When we met Rama and Shubham, we became fans of their deep expertise, having driven the growth of PlaySimple’s games to over $100 million in revenues, resulting in one of the best exits in the Indian ecosystem to date,” Anand Chandrasekaran, Partner at General Catalyst, said.