ManaMind Raises $1.5M to Automate Game QA Testing

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ManaMind, a British startup, raised $1.5M to automate video game QA with AI agents that find bugs faster than humans. The round was led by SVV, with participation from EWOR and others. The company's long-term vision is to become the autonomous testing layer for all software and robotics.

ManaMind, a British startup that uses AI to automate video game testing, just closed a $1.5 million pre-seed round. The company's goal? Replace repetitive manual quality assurance (QA) with autonomous AI agents that can play through games and find bugs way faster than humans. ### Who's Behind the Round The funding was led by SVV (Sure Valley Ventures), with participation from EWOR, Ascension, Syndicate Room, and Heartfelt. That's a solid mix of venture capital and angel investors betting on AI-powered automation in gaming. Emil Kostadinov, CEO and Co-Founder of ManaMind, puts it simply: "The future of game development should be about human creativity, not repetitive testing. We're automating the manual, time-consuming parts so studios can focus on building amazing worlds." ### The Bigger Picture: AI Testing is Hot Right Now ManaMind's announcement doesn't happen in a vacuum. 2026 has seen a wave of funding in adjacent sectors, with over $27 million flowing into AI testing and autonomous agent startups across Europe. Here's a quick look: - **Galtea** (Spain) raised $2.9 million for an AI evaluation platform that tests other AI agents. - **Test of Things** (Finland) secured $1.3 million to automate cybersecurity and compliance testing for connected products. - **Ralio** (UK) raised $2.3 million to make payments safer for AI agents. - **Overmind** (UK) raised $2.5 million for security and supervision tools for autonomous agents. - **Toyo** (UK) secured $3.9 million to develop secure AI agents for non-technical founders. - **Minit Games** (Germany) raised $1.8 million for an AI-driven short-form gaming feed. - **BetHog** (UK) closed a $9.2 million Series A for its AI live-dealer gaming platform. - **Nexus** (Belgium) raised $4 million to bring autonomous agents into core business operations. These rounds all point to one thing: investors are hungry for AI that can test, secure, and streamline complex systems. ManaMind sits right at the intersection of gaming and intelligent automation. ### How ManaMind's Tech Actually Works Founded in 2025, ManaMind's AI agents perceive their environment through audio and video, just like a human tester would. They can autonomously play and test video games, catching bugs that human testers might miss. The company's proprietary model, HiveMind, is built specifically for virtual environments. "We've developed our own proprietary visual model specifically for virtual environments because gaming demands that level of precision," adds Emil. "Gaming is our launchpad, but our vision is to build the autonomous testing layer for all software and, ultimately, robotics." The team combines serious credentials: Emil Kostadinov is an Oxford MBA and EWOR Fellow who worked as a game tester and knows the pain of manual QA firsthand. Sabtain Ahmad holds a PhD in Machine Learning. ### Why Game Studios Need This Now QA is one of the most expensive and time-consuming parts of game development, typically eating up 10-15% of a game's total budget. As modern AAA titles ship with over 1,000 hours of content across multiple platforms, release windows keep shrinking. Live-service games demand weekly updates that need constant regression testing. Brian Kinane, Founding Partner at SVV, explains the impact: "ManaMind is solving a critical pain point in game development. Their autonomous agents complete in six hours what takes manual QA teams days, and they catch bugs that human testers miss. That's the kind of measurable improvement we back." ### The Long Game: Beyond Gaming While gaming is ManaMind's entry market, the founding team's vision stretches further. They want to become the autonomous testing layer for all software, and eventually for robotics too. By starting with the demanding environment of video games, they're optimizing HiveMind for precision and reliability. So if you're a game studio drowning in QA costs, or just someone who loves seeing AI tackle real-world problems, ManaMind is one to watch. They're not just making games better. They're building the infrastructure for a future where intelligent agents test everything, from your next RPG to the software running robots on factory floors.

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