Fuel Ventures led the pre-seed round, which included participation from several prominent creators and strategists.
"The Creator Economy has grown at extraordinary speed, but the infrastructure hasn't kept up. Creators are forced to patch together multiple tools that don't speak to each other. Deaku changes that. We're building the connected workspace that creators and teams actually need – one system that understands their strategy, their data and their workflow."
Fuel Ventures backed the initial close of a pre-seed round intended to accelerate customer acquisition ahead of regulatory deadlines.
"As these requirements become enforceable, studios will need infrastructure that captures AI asset lineage – prompts, models, workflows – automatically, not spreadsheets and best-effort manual processes."
The pre-seed round was led by Arāya Ventures to support the development of the startup's creative AI workspace.
"First Concepts has a simple mission to transform creative context from something fragile and ephemeral into a structured, compounding asset. We are building an operating system that understands the value of creative thinking and taste. This will transform creative workflows for teams around the world."
The funding will support the Sheffield spinout in moving its porous silicon anode technology from the laboratory toward commercial deployment.
"Our focus from day one has been on building a new type of silicon battery material that can be produced at scale and integrated into existing battery supply chains. This investment allows us to move beyond proof-of-concept and concentrate on scaling a product that delivers real commercial value to battery manufacturers, without introducing unnecessary cost or complexity."
The pre-seed round was backed by industry experts including Kevin Hewitt, James Hardy, and Jamie Hearne.
"My co-founder Matt and I spent the last year walking the streets of London, sitting down and talking first hand with gym owners and managers to understand what is missing in the industry, and if SPORTL could be the answer. Seeing SPORTL launch today and physically opening the app is a dream come true. Our mission is to work alongside gym owners, giving them the flexibility and transparency they deserve from a booking platform. We’re incredibly proud of what we’ve built, and we can’t wait for SPORTL to become part of people’s everyday routines, helping them book classes on their terms, whenever it suits them."