Brain training startup Memorado has raised $1.3 million

Two ex-Wimdu employees received a $1.3 million seed round for a brain training games website called Memorado. The company also announced that it already has 1 million users. Different from other startups, Memorado kept quiet and decided to stay under the radar until it could announce reasonable user numbers. According to TechCrunch and Gründerszene, the list of investors is filled with Berlin founders: Former Wimdu founder Arne Bleckwenn, eDarling founder Lukas Grosseder and David Khalil, Home24 founder Philipp Kreibohm, Fox & Sheep founder Verena Delius, as well as Zalando’s founder Robert Gentz and David Schneider. Some invested through funds and others as private investors, memorado states.

I’ll confess, I’ve recently become hooked on so-called brain training games, which claim to be able to help you improve your cognitive ability, while also cleverly tapping into the casual mobile gaming phenomena. There’s nothing quite like wasting away time playing games on your iPhone all in the name of better health. Enter brain training and “cognitive science” startup Memorado, which today is disclosing a $1.3 million seed round it actually closed back in March (it appears that the brain-fit company forgot to tell anybody!). Backing comes from Sunstone Capital and a number of angels, including the founders of Zalando, StylistPick, Wimdu, Fyber, and Hitfox — all Berlin-based investors. The Wimdu connection is also fitting; Memorado’s founders, Marius Jeuck and Marius Luther are also co-founders of the Rocket Internet-founded company. Like others in the brain training space, Memorado produces a suite of mini-games, delivered via its website and app for iOS, that it says can help you improve your cognitive abilities. The idea is to offer a “gym for the brain,” encouraging you to visit Memorado often, like you would a gym, including a business model that features various subscription tiers and personalised programs for those that want to work-out their cognitive muscles more regularly.