Energy startup Souk raises £1.2m led by Sure Valley Ventures with Antler
This article covers Souk, an energy startup, which has raised £1.2m in a seed funding round to develop Coco, an autonomous AI partner manager that automates partner sourcing, engagement, performance tracking and payouts. The development aims to help energy firms, installers, resellers and integrators reactivate and manage partner networks to recover latent revenue and reduce the manual overhead of running partner programmes.
Souk, an energy startup based in London, has raised £1.2m in a seed funding round to develop Coco, an autonomous AI partner manager that the team says automates partner sourcing, engagement, performance tracking and payouts. The raise aims to turn dormant partner networks into more predictable revenue streams at a time when many companies still run partner programmes from spreadsheets and email.
Why it matters
Most commercial activity flows through third parties, yet partner programmes are often under-managed. Industry data cited by the company notes that 75% of world trade flows through indirect channels and that roughly 80% of partner revenue originates from under 20% of partners. CRN Research is cited as finding that 70% of partners stop selling within a year without formally leaving.
If those figures hold across energy markets, automating partner reactivation and lifecycle management could help companies recover latent revenue and reduce the operational overhead of running partner programmes. For energy firms that rely on installers, resellers and integrators to reach customers, better partner management can directly affect sales and service delivery.
Inside the product
At the centre of Souk's platform is Coco, described as an autonomous AI agent that sources partners, maintains continuous engagement, tracks performance and manages payouts across the partnership lifecycle. A key aim is not simply to sign new partners but to reactivate partners that have gone quiet.
In early deployments the team reports Coco has sourced partnerships expected to contribute seven figures in pipeline, won contracts with several unicorns and reduced partner acquisition work that previously took hours a day to zero. The company says the fresh capital will be used entirely for product development as it builds out Coco's core architecture.
Who are the investors?
The round is led by SVV (Sure Valley Ventures) and includes participation from Antler, Fuel Ventures and strategic angel investors from the B2B software industry.
In the announcement, Barry Downes, Managing Partner at SVV, said:
The moment we met Leo, Sofia and Ayo, it was clear they understood a problem most companies live with but few have truly solved: partnerships that start with huge promise and then slowly fall silent. They're building Souk to finally keep those relationships active and turn them into dependable revenue. We couldn't be more excited to lead this round and to support them as they build something genuinely category-defining.
In the announcement, Mark Pearson, Founder & Managing Partner at Fuel Ventures, said:
Partnerships are one of those areas every B2B company says matters and then quietly neglects, which is exactly the kind of overlooked, high-value problem we look for. Leo, Sofia and Ayo bring a special mix: operational experience actually running partner motions at scale, institutional rigour on the capital side, and the technical depth to ship AI infrastructure that works in production. We're glad to be part of this round alongside SVV and Antler.
In the announcement, Adam French, Partner at Antler, said:
We backed Souk from inception because the team combines exceptional operational execution with deep, hands-on category experience. Leo built high-performing partnership playbooks at scale, Sofia brings rigorous institutional market insight, and Ayo has proven technical experience shipping AI infrastructure. They are uniquely qualified to build the category-defining platform for AI-powered partnership management, and we are proud to continue supporting their journey.
If you're researching potential backers in this space:
- Explore our list of energy venture capital firms in the UK
- Browse our directory of energy angel investors in the UK
Founder perspective
Souk was founded in July 2025 by Leo Crowe, Sofia Hamilton and Ayo (no surname provided). The founders bring a mix of investment, operational and engineering backgrounds: Crowe previously worked at Anthemis Group investing in insurtech and fintech startups, served in the British Army Reserves and led UKI partnerships at Deel; Hamilton worked as an investor on BlackRock's Emerging Markets team covering cross-border capital flows and financial infrastructure; Ayo is a former GitHub engineer and founding CTO at Tymbah with experience shipping production AI systems and working on identity, fraud prevention and banking infrastructure at Trudenty and Union Bank of Nigeria.
In the announcement, Leo Crowe, Co-founder & CEO at Souk, said:
Partnerships are how most business gets done, yet the software supporting them has barely evolved. Companies spend enormous energy signing partners only to watch 80% of them go silent. With Souk, we are building Coco to handle the heavy lifting, keeping partners active and turning dormant networks into predictable revenue engines. This funding allows us to focus entirely on product development and deliver an AI-native partner manager that scales seamlessly.
The bigger picture
Souk's raise sits at the intersection of two trends: more B2B teams adopting AI to automate operational workflows, and a renewed focus on monetising existing partner networks rather than purely chasing new signings. For energy companies that often rely on distributed partner networks to install, service and resell solutions, a tool that reduces manual partner management could cut costs and improve go-to-market efficiency.
The deal also indicates continued appetite from early-stage investors for AI-native tools that address overlooked operational problems. It reflects growing interest from energy investors in software that makes indirect channels more productive.
This seed round is another example of UK startups attracting investor capital to commercial software that combines AI with domain workflows, reinforcing London's position as a hub for early-stage enterprise tooling serving both domestic and European markets.
They've invested in Souk
Get to know these energy investors
| Investors | Investment Focus | Startup Investments | Round Size | Connect |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Sure Valley Ventures (SVV)( ) | ||||
 | ||||
 Fuel Ventures( ) Fuel Ventures is a venture capital firm that focuses on backing ambitious tech c... London  | ||||
| All investors | All investor sectors | All funded startups | All funding rounds |
| Angel Investors | Location | Connect | Investment Focus | Startup Investments |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Mark Pearson 🔥 is the Founder & Managing Partner of Fuel Ventures, an active ea... | ||||
 Adam French plays a crucial role in the global entrepreneurial ecosystem, specif... | ||||
| All angel investors | All locations | All investor sectors | All funded startups |
*These angel investors have publicly mentioned their interest in angel investing or are members of angel networks. (Last updated: September 2026)
Click here for a full list of 7,589+ startup investors in the UK