Echo Chunk raises $1.4 million to keep making AI-powered puzzle games

Developer Echo Chunk, a studio focusing on AI-powered games, has raised $1.4 million in a pre-seed funding round. That money will go towards its debut title Echo Chess, and other projects it's working on that'll use the technology.

Included in that funding was a16z Speedrun, Zynga founder Mark Pincus, and Roblox Corp's AI head Stef Corazza. Echo Chunk founder Sami Ramly commended all funders, saying they "understood our passion for AI’s role in the co-creation process of the future."

Echo Chess is a free-to-play title with daily puzzles and sees players become the chess piece they just captured on the board. It went viral after its launch in April, and Ramly described it to VentureBeat as "a collaboration between humans and AI."

GenAI in game dev still on shaky ground

Generative AI in games is still controversial, though some developers have figured out how to use the technology. Last week, developer Volley also raised seed money, which it plans to use for its own projects made with generative AI.

The idea of Echo Chess (or any game) reducing the workload or "revolutionizing games" is exactly what drew partners like a16z and Corazza to Echo Chess. The latter believes that over time, the tech will become "the best copilot for game design."

Before that, though, generative AI will have to be a tool developers are more willing to use, or at least be more open about using on their games.