Turkish gaming startup Grand Games has announced a significant $30 million Series A funding round, just nine months after its inception. The funding, led by London-based Balderton, with participation from previous backers Bek Ventures and Laton Ventures, as well as angel investor Mert Gür, will be used to expand the company's team and develop more casual mobile games.

Grand Games has already made a name for itself with its popular titles Magic Sort and Car Match, which have generated over $4 million in gross app revenues in just six months. The company's success is attributed to its unique team culture, modeled after Supercell, the Finnish casual gaming giant. According to CEO and co-founder Bekir Batuhan Çelebi, the company's approach focuses on giving teams ownership and autonomy to develop their own games, leveraging AI tools to speed up the process.

The funding round is one of the largest Series A investments in a Turkish gaming startup, and it's a testament to the growing gaming industry in the country. Grand Games is not disclosing its valuation, but sources suggest that the round was oversubscribed, with investors competing to get in. The company's success is all the more notable given that many casual gaming startups tend to stay off the radar, opting for a bootstrapped approach instead of seeking venture capital.

Grand Games' founders, including Çelebi, Mustafa Fırtına, and Mehmet Çalım, have a background in the Turkish gaming industry, having worked together at Good Job Games before venturing out to build Grand Games. The trio's vision is to create a structure where teams have more autonomy and ownership over game development, resulting in more productive work, better games, and happier employees.

The company's approach is inspired by Supercell's model, which has been successful for over a decade. By giving teams more freedom to make decisions, Grand Games aims to create a culture that fosters creativity and innovation. The use of AI tools, such as Midjourney for artwork and OpenAI for coding, also helps to streamline the development process and give teams more time to focus on creative work.

As Grand Games expands its team and develops more games, the big question will be whether it can sustain its track record of success. Investors are betting that the company's unique approach and culture will continue to drive growth and innovation in the gaming industry.

"Istanbul is producing some of the world's finest gaming studios, and within that ecosystem, the founders of Grand Games stood out with their vision to create world-class genre-defining casual games that players love to play," said Suranga Chandratillake, General Partner at Balderton Capital. "The speed with which they have built a brilliant team culture and achieved success with their first two games demonstrates their talent and commitment. We are excited to be working with a team with sky-high ambition and passion for gaming."

With this significant funding round, Grand Games is poised to become a major player in the global gaming industry, and its success is likely to have a ripple effect on the Turkish gaming ecosystem as a whole.