AI-powered startup EasyWin lands $15m valuation at close of first seed round

• EasyWin closed its first seed round with a $15 million valuation.
• The startup was founded by former Mamboo executive Ivan Leshkevich.

Polish real-money games startup EasyWin has closed its first seed round with a $15 million valuation.

Leveraging AI technology, the eight-person team has built a global tournament platform for casual puzzle games featuring cash prizes. EasyWin’s 35,000 daily active users, 55% D30 payer retention rate and $30m annualised GMV run rate have all helped propel the platform among the top performers in its segment.

Now, funding in its first seed round has come from Velo Partners, Vladimir Nikolsky, and various private angel investors.

AI as a tool

EasyWin was founded by former Mamboo executive Ivan Leshkevich. As CEO of the startup, he highlighted how AI tools are powering fast movement in skill-based games. He confirmed to use at PocketGamer.biz that the new funds will enable an expansion of EasyWin’s AI-backed engineering tools and product capabilities.

Funds will also improve infrastructure and support faster delivery of new content.

"Our focus is on staying lean while increasing output, moving faster than bigger players in the space. But just as important as the funding itself is what it represents: real-money skill gaming is still an early and underserved category, and we had the opportunity to be first movers," he said.

"Some years ago when I was still at a major publisher, the idea of mobile skill-based cash tournaments was met with scepticism. People thought it was ‘too risky, too regulated, too niche’. But when I first shared the concept for EasyWin with one of our lead investors, Vladimir Nikolsky, he immediately saw the potential. His belief in the vision gave us the confidence to move fast, build boldly and get ahead of the curve, exactly where we plan to stay."

Real-money markets

Thus far, the US has been EasyWin’s strongest market in both volume and revenue, with other high performers including Canada, Australia, Germany, and the UK. Most success has come in tier-one markets, therefore, though EasyWin does operate globally in areas where skill-based games are permitted.

Though EasyWin was never in India, the recent real-money games ban in the country has served as a reminder of how "dynamic and fragmented real-money regulation can be".

"Regulation is an inherent part of the real-money gaming space, and we don’t see it as a threat, but as a constant we need to proactively work with," Leshkevich told us.

"Our approach is to stay ahead of changes, not just react to them. We’re structured to be agile, compliant by design, and ready to adapt to local frameworks as they evolve. That adaptability is part of what makes EasyWin sustainable long-term. We’re not chasing loopholes; we’re building for markets that value fairness, trust, and transparency."

Leshkevich also highlighted how "massive, fast-growing, and still relatively underexplored" real-money games are on mobile. He expressed excitement at its rapid evolution driven by AI, matchmaking, and fraud protection