Series AI raises $7.9m for AI games engine

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New studio comprised of industry veterans from Google, Zynga, and Kongregate

Series AI has raised $7.9 million in a seed round led by venture capital firm A16z Games.

The round also included investments from Bitkraft, F4 Fund, and the Siqi Chen Access Fund.

The newly formed studio was co-founded by former Kongregate CEO Pany Haritatos and composed of industry veterans, including:

Julia Zhan (head of AI product, former product lead at Riot Games)
Brian Schneider (head of games, former director of design at Zynga)
Josh English (head of engineering, former lead software engineer at Google)
Hugh Walters (head of creative tech and art, former head of visual design at Snap Games Studio)
Yuko Wada (head of operations, former project manager at Kongregate)

Money raised from investors will support the new studio in constructing the Rho Engine, a game-authoring platform that combines generative AI with an “easy-to-use” game editor and toolset.

“A mature toolset will allow our team to explore brand new game systems, themes, and mechanics in almost the same amount of time it would take to describe them,” said CEO Haritatos.

“In the hands of our expert game makers, we believe this technology will enable new category-leading products without the compromises inherent in traditional game development.”