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Layer AI raises $1.8m to supercharge game art production!

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Layer, the AI-powered productivity tool of choice by the world’s top gaming companies, raises a $1.8M seed round by top ad-tech and gaming angels, and VC funds. 
 
The creator-first, enterprise-ready tool for professional art creation, Layer AI, today announced the successful closing of their first seed round. Round included top serial entrepreneurs and industry legends like Jim Payne, gaming angels like Akin Babayigit, Michele Attisani, and Dilpesh Parmar and gaming VCs like The Games Fund, The Games Syndicate, GFR Fund, Laton Ventures along with other AI/Tech VCs and angels like 500 Global, Elena Silenok, Taimur Rashid. Additionally, the team also got a strategic investment from the US-based top art production and talent house Devoted Studios.
 
Getting to know the team 
 
Layer, based in San Francisco, is founded by a team of passionate professionals with decades of experience in AI, Gaming, and Computer Vision. Volkan Gurel is the CEO, with a background in engineering and management from MIT, Hunch and Coinbase. Burcu is the CRO and served in multiple client-facing roles across multiple products from ads to game services at Unity & LoopMe. Kuo-chin, PhD is the CTO who recently joined bringing 20 years of experience in Computer Vision from Appen and XMotors. Finally, Mehmet is a self-taught technical artist and game developer who co-founded and sold Gram Games to Zynga in 2018. 
 
The team strongly believes a compact elite team can outcompete larger players and will expand by staying selective and laser focused on gaming. They believe in driving significant value to many businesses is critical to their own success, whether they are garage startups or industry giants. They are now hiring for their founding team positions: https://www.layer.ai/careers 
 
What makes Layer unique? 
 
Layer is simply unmatched when it comes to seamless integration into art pipelines and intuitive creator workflows, providing a great user experience and productivity boost. As proven by customer testimonials and detailed case studies, Layer leads the race as the tool of choice for game creators of all skill levels whether they are just starting their journey or have mastered game development. Layer proves any creator can go beyond their imagination and experiment with brand new ideas and art styles. A lot of AI tools today focus on either general use cases and foundational model training, or offer standalone cool features but don’t actually serve the everyday use cases. Most of them are either too complicated or are not designed for multi-disciplinary teams and certainly not enterprise ready. 
 
“Layer supercharges artist teams’ productivity by 240% and helps expedite the delivery of art to meet deadlines” says Production Lead, Games United 
 
“Layer AI supercharged Tripledot’s art creation, 3Xing our production speed and elevating quality. By reducing our reliance on outsourcing studios, we’ve not only saved significant costs but also brought the magic of art production in-house. We’re incredibly excited about this technology and eagerly await further updates. VP of Creative at Tripledot Studios. 
 
Creators not only can go faster but can also supercharge their imagination. “Our art pipeline is not only faster, the variations Layer provides has been super helpful in increasing our creative potential and exploring brand new ideas”‘ says the Artist at APPS Teknoloji. (more quotes will be available on our website by 10th of November) 
 
Layer already empowers many artists to generate images based on their own art styles, allowing them to seamlessly iterate on these images through its premier AI-assisted canvas. Layer is the only generative AI solution that has been adopted by the teams of world’s largest mobile gaming studios. Layer has a clear direction in style-consistent output quality, speedy generation, and an intuitive interface that’s committed to solving game artists’ challenges using AI. 
 
Volkan Gurel, the CEO believes “Just like Web 2.0, Cloud computing or mobile unlocked novel applications that beat incumbents and other startup competitors based on a great product experience, we believe the AI revolution will be no different. AI has unlocked many new applications that will be built on top of this new tech stack and we plan to win by building the best product experience for artists in the enterprise leveraging the power of all the great foundational models and tools released by OpenAI, Meta, Stability AI and others. We’re creator-first, enterprise-ready and will remain model-agnostic”. 
 
What’s ahead? 
While Layer is focusing on perfecting 2D generation in games for mobile, then AAA studios, the team is already looking ahead. In the near future, Layer will generate both spine and sprite animations from text, images and other animations and further expand to 3D workflows. Layer will also build integrations into non-gaming workflows like marketing and advertising.
 
Layer will continue its dedication to style-consistent output quality, seamless workflow integrations that empower and free artists from redundant workflow overheads. “AI unlocked many opportunities for gaming and we want Layer to be the easiest tool to get onboard with and the fastest to ROI “ says Burcu Ozcengiz, the CRO. Layer is already serving numerous top tier clients like Tripledot, Sciplay, Mag Interactive and hundreds of professional artists since launching in February 2023. Layer is also working to shore up their compliance program and will achieve SOC 2 and ISO certification to further cement the security and reliability of their offering for the enterprise. 
 
“Being deeply rooted in game development we see pivotal changes coming to production with Gen-AI tools coming into play. We are not big fans of the idea of flooding the market with soulless content and Layer.AI sets itself apart by aiming to enhance, not replace, human artistry, liberating creators from mundane tasks. That is what we all believe in. We also like that their focus is on enterprise clients and their real needs for seamless integration into existing production pipelines.” – comments Maria Kochmola, General Partner at The Games Fund.

George Miller (Gyorgy Molnar) started his career in content marketing and has started working as an Editor/Content Manager for our company in 2016. George has acquired many experiences when it comes to interviews and newsworthy content becoming Head of Content in 2017. He is responsible for the news being shared on multiple websites that are part of the European Gaming Media Network.

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Expanse Studios (GMGI) Obtains Croatian iGaming Certification

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Expanse Studios, the B2B game development division of Golden Matrix Group Inc. (NASDAQ: GMGI), has received official certification from Croatia’s Ministry of Finance for its flagship game Super Heli, with additional titles in the company’s 56-game portfolio expected to receive approval in the coming weeks for the EU member state.

The certification marks a strategic entry into a market that generated US$484.70m in 2024, with projected growth at a CAGR of 8.4% during 2024-2030. Super Heli, Expanse’s most popular crash-style game, becomes the first of the studio’s titles approved for the Croatian market, paving the way for broader portfolio distribution.

Tapping Into High-Growth European Market

Croatia represents a compelling opportunity for B2B gaming suppliers, with the Online Casinos segment alone projected at US$218.10m in 2024. According to iGamingToday’s latest market research, Croatia’s gambling market will reach €720.42 million by 2025, making it one of Europe’s fastest-growing regulated markets.

Among the key market benefits are:

  • Accelerating digital adoption – Internet penetration jumped from 76% in 2020 to 83% in 2023
  • Over 20.6 million tourist arrivals in 2023 following Schengen Zone entry
  • Over 500,000 Croatians expected to engage in regular online gambling by 2027

Strategic Value for the Company

The certification strengthens Expanse Studios’ European footprint at a critical juncture. With 56 proprietary titles and 500+ B2B partners globally, Expanse is expected to capture a meaningful share in the growing EU market.

“Croatia certification is more than market access—it’s validation of our content quality and compliance capabilities in demanding EU jurisdictions,” said Damjan Stamenkovic, CEO of Expanse Studios. “With our flagship title Super Heli already approved and more games in the pipeline, we’re very excited for the opportunities this markets brings us”

Competitive Advantage in Regulated Markets

Croatia’s regulatory framework favors established, compliant B2B providers. Operators must obtain licenses requiring significant capital investment, and only licensed casino games operators who have at least one brick-and-mortar casino can offer online gambling. This creates high barriers to entry and positions certified B2B suppliers like Expanse as essential partners for operators.

The post Expanse Studios (GMGI) Obtains Croatian iGaming Certification appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.

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Kristina Jakovleva Represents Slotsjudge at iGB London 2025

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The iGB London 2025 event is set to push the boundaries of the online gambling market, and Kristina Jakovleva, Business Development Manager at SEOBROTHERS, will represent Slotsjudge. The event is expected to gather over 15,000 attendees and more than 300 sponsors, and Kristina plans to cover technological trends, discuss affiliate marketing strategies, and foster industry-specific networking.

Event Overview: About iGB London 2025

As one of the iGaming industry’s key global events, iGB London brings together thousands of professionals to drive innovation and growth. Following the success of previous editions, with over 6,500+ affiliates and 150+ programs on offer, the upcoming event promises even greater opportunities for business and collaboration.

Over 15,000+ industry specialists are to join the event this time. This year, participants will discuss technological trends, regulatory updates, affiliate marketing, and branding strategies. Participants can gain actionable insights and learn from successful case studies, making the event both exciting and informative.

About Kristina Jakovleva: Expertise & Plans

Starting her career in education at Liverpool John Moores University, Kristina has been in the iGaming market for years, working as a customer support specialist, affiliate manager, and ultimately as a Business Development Manager at SEOBROTHERS.

Years of experience and a focus on growth enabled Kristina to understand which approach best suited the company quickly, and she successfully implemented strategic partnerships and business growth initiatives to benefit from industry-specific networking.

Expectations & Final Thoughts

Attendees can enjoy iGB London 2025 on 2–3 July 2025 at ExCeL London, and an exclusive AI Concierge service will be available to cover basic questions about the event. Nick Hill, Executive Director at Premier Hill, says that ‘it represents the entire industry, and it is a must-attend show.’

It’s an excellent opportunity for the Slotsjudge team to gain performance-driven insights and plan future growth over the next 12 to 24 months, while other participants can learn from Kristina Jakovleva’s work, reinforcing Slotsjudge’s ongoing commitment to innovation and the overall growth of the iGaming industry.

The post Kristina Jakovleva Represents Slotsjudge at iGB London 2025 appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.

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Solitics launches In-Game Pulse for personalised in-play betting offers

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Solitics has launched In-Game Pulse, a powerful tool that allows operators to turn real-time sports moments into high-impact engagement with bettors.

With In-Game Pulse, operators can respond to goals, plays and key events with personalised in-play betting offers, delivered to players when their attention peaks, not after.

It’s powered by Solitic’s new Follow Engine, which tracks what each bettor is interested in and then automatically delivers tailored campaigns based on those interests.

This means marketers build just one journey, rather than separate ones for each possibility.

In-Game Pulse works by connecting an operator’s user data with a live sports feed, then the Follow Engine adapts a single flow to match each user’s interests in real time.

Marketers can then trigger journeys based on the most important moments in a game – a goal, red card – as and when they happen, meaning they are no longer limited to just user behaviour.

The best part is that each campaign is tailored to the individual bettor, and based on the teams, athletes and events they care about.

This makes In-Game Pulse the perfect solution for personalised in-play betting engagement.

This is an example of how it works.

A team scores a goal. 

All users with that team in their favourites list get notified instantly. 

The messaging is kept really simple:

“Big Moment! Your team just scored. Want to double down on the momentum?”. 

The great thing about In-Game Pulse is that it’s not a workaround or a third-party add-on; instead, it sits within Solitics’ engagement flows.

This means operators and their marketing teams can deliver hyper-personalised campaigns at peak interest, with the speed and control that Solitics has built its reputation on.

Guy Shemer, VP Product at Solitics, said: “In-Game Pulse will change the game for how marketers engage players with in-play betting communications and offers. 

“In the past, they have had to map out multiple journeys, and this has created a tremendous amount of work, let alone the challenge of pushing communications at the right time. 

“In-Game Pulse does all the heavy lifting here, allowing marketers to engage players in the moment and when their attention peaks, not after. 

“In short, it allows operators to go beyond their own data and react instantly to live sports moments – moments that can drive betting activity.” 

The post Solitics launches In-Game Pulse for personalised in-play betting offers appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.

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