Deaku raises £480k pre-seed to build context-aware AI workspace for creators
This article covers Deaku, a media startup that has raised £480,000 in a pre-seed funding round to build an integrated, AI-driven workspace for creators and creator-led businesses. The development aims to support individual creators and production teams by centralising planning, analytics, collaboration and AI-driven tools to streamline workflows and monetisation.
Deaku, a media startup, has raised £480,000 in a pre-seed funding round to build an integrated, AI-driven workspace for creators and creator-led businesses. The capital will be used to accelerate product development, expand engineering and support teams, and fund go-to-market activity and partnerships.
Why it matters
Creators and production teams often rely on a patchwork of tools for planning, analytics, communication and editing. That fragmentation adds cost and friction at a time when the creator economy is maturing into a professionally run sector — commonly cited in the market as a multi-hundred-billion-dollar opportunity. Deaku aims to replace disconnected toolchains with a single platform that combines strategy, collaboration, data and AI, promising faster workflows and clearer monetisation paths for creators and marketing teams.
Inside the product
Deaku positions itself as an “intelligent workspace” that centralises content strategy, analytics, collaboration and communication in one environment. Its stated differentiator is context-aware infrastructure: by keeping strategy, data and content together the platform can apply AI that understands a creator’s style and workflow, rather than treating content creation as a series of isolated tasks.
Practically, that means Deaku is targeting both individual creators and production teams who want shared planning, performance tracking and content-first AI assistance without switching between multiple specialist apps. The company says the new funding will speed development of these features and strengthen customer support and partnership activity with high-profile creator voices.
Who are the investors?
The round was led by Fuel Ventures and included participation from creators-turned-investors Rob Landes, Charles Berthoud, Rob Van Impe and Mario Joos, the strategist credited with work on many of Mr Beast’s viral videos. The presence of creator investors reflects the product’s go-to-market focus on users who understand production workflows firsthand.
Fuel Ventures is a UK early-stage fund that has backed more than 210 companies and deployed roughly £246 million since 2014. Its portfolio includes companies that have scaled to notable exits or growth: ContentCal, a content planning tool acquired by Adobe; Capdesk, an equity management platform acquired by Carta; and Volt, a fast-growing fintech. These examples are frequently cited by Fuel as evidence of its experience in scaling product-led businesses from early stages to larger outcomes.
In the announcement, Mark Pearson, Founder of Fuel Ventures, commented:
What stood out to us was Oscar and Harrison’s combination of first-hand insight into the challenges the industry is facing and product vision. They’re not just building another creator tool – they’re laying the operational foundations for how modern creator-led businesses run. Deaku is positioned to become a foundational platform in this rapidly growing sector, and we’re excited to support its growth.
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Founder perspective
Deaku was founded by childhood friends Oscar Ferguson and Harrison Chapman. Ferguson previously worked as an NHS doctor and moved into content work to address medical misinformation online. Chapman built a video production business working with large YouTubers. Their own experience running production workflows exposed the limits of disparate tools, which prompted them to build a unified workspace.
In the announcement, Oscar Ferguson, Co-founder of Deaku, said:
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.
The bigger picture
The raise highlights continued early-stage interest in infrastructure plays for creator businesses. Rather than single-purpose editing or distribution apps, investors are looking at platforms that can sit at the centre of a creator’s operations and capture value across planning, production and monetisation. The participation of creator investors also signals demand for products validated by experienced users.
Deaku’s pre-seed comes as UK founders and investors increasingly target creator-focused tools and services, echoing similar moves across Europe where startups are building the back-end systems that professional creators and agencies require. The new funding will test whether a unified, AI-enabled workspace can reduce friction and become a foundational part of creator operations.
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