Gran Turismo star Max Teichert’s Titan Academy raises $1 million to help gamers gain ground

London-based, automated coaching for simulation game players startup Titan Academy has raised $1 million in a seed funding round that will help the startup further develop and expand its racing games-focused offer in tandem with fleshing out plans to expand into new verticals, beginning with football. Following a pre-seed round in early 2022, Titan Academy has now raised a total of $1.8 million.

Titan Academy’s $1 million seed round was led by the venture arm of Romanian betting platform Superbet, with Ascension, APX (Axel Springer and Porsche), Concept Ventures, and angel investors including Maria Scuri from ELS FACEIT, pro racing driver Adrien de Leener, and Titan user and Magnite CMO David Hertog participating.

Any longtime player of Polyphony Digital’s Gran Turismo should be well familiar with the name Max Teichert. At the age of 18, Teichert (who also now serves as a racing instructor for Porsche) was one of the final eight selected to participate in the 2014 GT Academy, beating out some 65,000 online competitors FTW.

Fast forward some six years, and instead of behind the virtual wheel of some of the fastest fire-breathers on the planet, Max now finds himself piloting a startup that’s aiming to help others achieve the same, if not better, results.

After launching Track Titan in 2021, according to the startup, they began monetising in early 2022, have reached a steady six-figure ARR, and count users hailing from 70+ countries. Oddly enough, while Gran Turismo is not one of the driving titles Track Titan can coach drivers through in clocking faster and faster lap times, Teichert informs me that as part of that expanding games roster, GT is definitely on the list.

As for the rationale behind Titan Academy, Teichert explains, “Others shouldn’t have to grind it out like I did as a teenager. Our mission is to give players personalised insights at the right time so they can instantly improve.” 

While this author is in no way, shape, or form an aspiring pro gamer, if I’m ever going to get my Nürburgring lap below six minutes, if only for the bragging rights (say nothing for Porsche’s blistering record holder at 5:19.55), stay tuned, an in-depth review of Titan Academy’s service might just be on the way.

Now, if they could only help me out with the back nine at TPC Sawgrass via 2k Sport’s Tiger Woods’ 2K23, now that would be something!