Ep. 209: Building the "aspirin" for casino game distribution headaches w/ David & Kavin from Hydrastack

Ep. 209 features David and Kavin from Hydrastack, a startup using AI to transform how casino games are developed, converted, and distributed across channels.

Hear them discuss:

• The origin story of Hydrastack and how industry pain points around game distribution sparked the idea
• Why converting casino games from land-based to online can take 6–8 months and how Hydrastack cuts that down to weeks
• How their proprietary AI models ingest and transform existing game code instead of requiring full rewrites
• The massive inefficiencies in the current gaming supply chain and how they impact manufacturers, operators, and players
• Why “re-authoring” games from scratch is the industry’s biggest bottleneck
• How Hydrastack’s platform integrates directly into existing developer workflows (like Unity)
• The importance of combining deep industry experience with an outsider perspective to build better solutions
• Early traction, including pilot partnerships with major manufacturers and strong inbound interest
• Their business model: platform licensing + per-game conversion fees
• Insights from participating in programs like Zero Labs, Rice Business Plan Competition, and Booth’s New Venture Challenge
• How AI is being adopted across gaming and why most companies still struggle to extract real value from it
• Their long-term vision to become the core platform for casino game development and distribution

The dedicated Startup Zone at SBC Summit Americas gives real-money gaming startups a platform to showcase to 10,000+ attendees — including investors, operators, suppliers, media, and key industry players. Spaces are limited, secure yours now through https://www.bettingstartups.com/sbc-americas-2026

If you don't have a ticket for the event yet, use discount code BETTINGSTARTUPSVIP for 30% off your pass. Grab your ticket here: https://sbcevents.com/sbc-summit-americas/

Learn more 👇

➡️ Hydrastack website

➡️ David Dimas on Linkedin 

➡️ Kavin Kaviarasan on Linkedin