Fuel Ventures, one of the UK’s most prolific VC firms, is inviting startups to pitch businesses built with an AI co-founder, with up to £250,000 available for investment in the strongest idea.

The initiative is based on recent internal analysis conducted by Fuel Ventures, which found that 76% of the highest-performing businesses in its portfolio were co-founded by two or more individuals. These co-founded startups consistently demonstrated higher resilience, broader skill coverage, and stronger overall execution compared to ventures led by solo founders.

In light of this data, Fuel now wants to know: can artificial intelligence act as a functional co-founder, filling the same strategic, technical, or operational gaps typically covered by a human partner?

As part of the challenge, Fuel is inviting solo founders to pitch their businesses in which they either currently have an ‘AI co-founder’ or they create an ‘AI co-founder’ for their current business. The AI system must be meaningfully involved across key areas of development, such as product ideation, customer research, go-to-market planning, or business operations. To be considered, the AI must contribute in a measurable and consistent way to the success of the venture, not as a tool, but as a core member of the founding team.

Mark Pearson, founder of Fuel Ventures, says:

“Given the incredible traction we’re seeing from AI-first businesses, it’s clear we’ve entered a new era of startup potential. At Fuel Ventures, we firmly believe that small, focused teams who deeply understand and leverage AI tools have the ability to build billion-pound companies. Founders who are fluent in AI are effectively operating with superpowers, unlocking levels of speed, efficiency and scalability that were simply impossible just a few years ago.

“Founders with co-founders tend to outperform those going it alone,  that’s what our data says. But what if your co-founder isn’t human? That’s the question we’re asking. This isn’t just a hypothetical – It’s a real challenge, with real funding on the table.

“Can an AI co-founder raise investment, scale a company, and deliver a return? The most convincing pitch which demonstrates the effectiveness of an AI-human founder duo will receive funding of up to £250,000 from Fuel Ventures.”

This challenge reflects Fuel’s broader investment strategy. The fund exclusively backs startups that have AI at the heart of their product, platform, or operations. Fuel is particularly interested in companies where AI is not just an add-on, but a fundamental driver of value creation and scalability.

Startups are invited to submit their pitch via this online form and are advised to mention that their company has an AI co-founder on the application.