A London-based startup that wants to fix a persistent headache in business-to-business sales has raised $1.6 million in pre-seed funding. Souk, which builds AI software to manage referral and affiliate partnerships, secured the round from Sure Valley Ventures, a venture capital firm focused on early-stage companies in the UK and Ireland, according to Tech.eu, the outlet that first reported the deal.
Antler, the global early-stage investor and accelerator, also took part in the round. Souk went through Antler’s Fast Track programme before closing the funding, a scheme the accelerator describes as identifying founders who are ‘ready to be backed now.’
The problem Souk says it solves
Many B2B software companies rely on partners, other businesses that refer or resell their product, to drive a significant share of revenue. According to commentary from investor newsletter Kitsune VC cited in the brief, partnerships can account for 30 to 50 percent of a SaaS company’s revenue. But co-founder Leo Crowe has said on LinkedIn that roughly nine out of ten partners contribute nothing to a company’s sales pipeline, leaving partner managers to spend much of their time on manual outreach to partners who rarely convert.
Souk’s answer is an AI agent, described in the company’s material under the names Scout and, later, Coco, an ‘AI Partner Development Manager.’ The system is designed to find and vet potential partners, re-engage inactive ones, and then manage the practical side of the relationship: onboarding, deal tracking, performance attribution and commission payouts.
Early traction
Souk launched its full platform in January, after founders met with more than 100 partnership leaders and ran paid pilots in the UK, US and Europe. Co-founder Sofia Hamilton, who serves as Souk’s chief operating officer, has said on LinkedIn that the platform generated £200,000 in qualified sales pipeline within weeks of launch.
Roughly £150 million in partner payment volume is currently under active discussion through Souk’s platform, according to a LinkedIn post by Sofia Hamilton.
The company has also run pilots with larger, well-known customers, including Google, Deel, Vanta and Engine, according to the founders’ own statements. Investor commentary from Kitsune VC frames the opportunity in broader terms, pointing to a global B2B channel partnership market it estimates at $1.5 trillion.
Sure Valley Ventures has previously backed AI-focused startups in the UK and Ireland, including ManaMind, Mirror Security and PHINXT Robotics, according to the brief. Souk’s raise adds another early-stage AI company to that portfolio, betting that automating a traditionally manual and relationship-driven part of B2B sales can produce measurable returns for its customers.
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