Kinoa raises $10 million to expand AI platform for mobile app retention and monetization

Kinoa, a startup developing AI-powered operational tools for mobile apps and games, has secured $10 million in seed funding to accelerate the development of its predictive intelligence platform and expand its automation capabilities for app publishers. The round was led by Transcend Fund, with participation from Sisu Game Ventures.

Founded by former executives from Playtika, Amazon, and Skai, Kinoa is building an AI-driven operating system designed to help mobile companies manage engagement, retention, and monetization through automated decision-making. The platform analyzes player and user behavior in real time, identifying patterns such as churn risk, spending potential, and responsiveness to offers before automatically triggering personalized actions.

The company is entering a market where mobile publishers are increasingly shifting focus from user acquisition to maximizing the value of existing users. According to Kinoa, rising acquisition costs and declining targeting efficiency have made retention and live operations a larger priority for mobile businesses. The company claims that 78% of the top 1,000 mobile games have experienced revenue declines despite ongoing live operations efforts.

Kinoa’s platform combines predictive AI models with an execution layer that allows operators to launch personalized in-app experiences, configure features, segment users, adjust offers, and deploy campaigns without requiring app updates or engineering resources. The company positions the technology as a way to reduce operational complexity while enabling faster responses to player behavior and market changes.

The startup reports that several gaming and consumer app companies, including Playstudios, Playsimple, MTG, Carry1st, and GammaTime, are already using the platform. Case studies shared by the company suggest improvements in payer conversion, retention, and revenue performance among customers implementing its AI-driven live operations tools.

While Kinoa initially focused on mobile gaming, the company says its technology is increasingly being adopted by consumer applications in sectors such as entertainment, streaming, education, and productivity. The broader expansion reflects growing interest in AI systems capable of automating operational workflows traditionally managed by product, CRM, and monetization teams.

With the new funding, Kinoa plans to invest further in predictive modeling and deploy additional AI agents aimed at automating a larger portion of app operations. As competition intensifies across the mobile ecosystem, the company is betting that AI-powered automation will play a larger role in how publishers manage user engagement, retention strategies, and revenue growth.