AI Agents Enter Game Testing Arena with $6M Boost for nunu.ai

Automated agents aim to reduce costly and repetitive QA testing

nunu.ai, a tech startup based in Vorderthal, Switzerland, has secured $6 million in seed funding to accelerate the development of its AI agents designed for automating game testing. The round was co-led by TIRTA Ventures and a16z speedrun, with participation from Y Combinator and other investors, bringing the company’s total capital raised to $8 million.

The startup, officially known as Generai AG, is working on AI technology it describes as "Unembodied Minds" — autonomous agents that can perform complex tasks in virtual environments without a physical form. The team behind the project, Jan Schnyder, Kyrill Hux, and Nicolas Muntwyler, first met in 2017 during a lecture at ETH Zurich and have since built a system that integrates AI agents into video games for Quality Assurance (QA) purposes.

Game testing has become an increasingly significant cost center for the industry, with blockbuster titles like GTA 6 reportedly exceeding $2 billion in development budget, and Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War costing around $700 million. Studios often allocate roughly 10% of their total budget to QA, most of which is spent on time-consuming manual testing. While automation has been attempted before, traditional script-based testing tools often break with frequent game updates, creating reliability issues.

Language-based AI agents are already being used by studios

nunu.ai's approach leverages natural language commands to direct AI agents in executing tasks in video games. In one of its early demos, an agent was able to complete the tutorial section of Hogwarts Legacy based solely on simple instructions. According to the company, several studios—ranging from indie developers to larger players—have already started using these agents to run hundreds of automated tests per month, operating continuously.

As games grow more realistic, the company believes its technology could move beyond virtual environments. "As games become increasingly realistic, game engines are evolving into advanced physics engines capable of simulating real-world conditions. Since nunu.ai’s AI agents can act and navigate in any virtual environment, we believe our platform will naturally progress into real-world applications," the company stated. Co-founder Jan Schnyder emphasized their long-term vision by adding, “We believe the pathway to embodied AI goes through gaming.”

Real-world applications and robotics on the horizon

While the current focus remains on gaming QA, the team has already begun experimenting with real-world use cases. In one test, the company adapted its technology to a quadruped robot, which successfully executed tasks such as retrieving a Coca-Cola bottle from a table and checking a fridge for bananas.

Ben Feder, Managing Partner at TIRTA Ventures and former Take-Two Interactive CEO, commented on the investment: "nunu.ai's unembodied AI agents represent a paradigm shift in how we think about testing and automation."

With this funding, nunu.ai plans to strengthen its infrastructure and expand its engineering team, keeping its core mission centered on improving game testing processes while exploring broader potential for its adaptive AI technology.