Affinity Labs Raises $2M to Build AI-Powered Creator-Led Apps

London-based Affinity Labs has raised $2 million to build and scale AI-powered mobile applications in partnership with digital creators. The startup aims to turn creators' existing audiences, trust, and influence into software businesses by combining their distribution capabilities with shared AI engineering and operational infrastructure.

The funding round was led by Fuel Ventures, with participation from Antler and angel investors connected to Google DeepMind, Meta, and Playfair VC. Other backers include Italian YouTuber Marcello Ascani, Kyra CEO Devran Amaratunga Karaca, Christian Arnstedt of Blazar Capital, Ryan Nelson of JOBI Brands, and Quentin Jayat of easyJet. The funding package also includes a £497,787 Innovate UK grant, which CEO and co-founder Edoardo Ricci says helped reduce investment risk and build investor confidence.

Affinity Labs plans to use its funding to expand its portfolio of creator-led software brands, develop additional mobile apps, and strengthen the shared technology that supports them.

Affinity Labs' creator-led app business model

Affinity Labs is building a model in which digital creators become co-founders of software products rather than simply promoting third-party applications. The company works directly with creators to develop products that fit their audiences, while its internal team handles much of the technology and operational work required to launch and scale them.

CEO and co-founder Edoardo Ricci believes creators have significant untapped potential as business founders. They already have audiences, established relationships with followers, and distribution channels that conventional consumer software companies often need considerable time and money to build.

Affinity Labs wants to connect those advantages with a centralised technology operation. Instead of each creator building an independent software company from scratch, the startup provides shared engineering capabilities and infrastructure across multiple products.

The company describes its approach as similar to Bending Spoons, the Italian technology company known for managing a portfolio of software products through a central organisation. Affinity Labs aims to apply a comparable operating model to creator-led applications, using AI and shared systems to manage a growing portfolio with a relatively small team.

Its internal product, Foundry, supports this approach with tools that include automated user-generated content systems and payment infrastructure. These capabilities are intended to help the company develop, launch, and operate applications without building an entirely separate organisation around every brand.

Ricci argues that as AI makes software development more accessible, the ability to reach and retain customers will become increasingly important. Affinity Labs is betting that creators can provide this distribution advantage while its technology platform handles much of the work behind the products.

Founders met through Antler's London programme

Affinity Labs was founded by Edoardo Ricci, Ahmed Eltom, and Sunny Panchal. Ricci serves as CEO, Eltom is chief operating officer, and Panchal is chief technology officer. The three met through Antler's London programme.

Antler initially invested an undisclosed amount to help the founders test their business concept. The programme gave the team an opportunity to validate whether combining creator audiences with shared software development infrastructure could support a portfolio of consumer applications.

Hannah Leach, a partner at Antler, highlighted the founding team's combination of technical execution and commercial capabilities. She also pointed to the opportunity to combine established creator distribution with a centralised AI engineering operation.

The latest round includes investment from Fuel Ventures, which led the funding, alongside Antler. The package also includes £497,787 from Innovate UK. According to Ricci, the grant represented approximately one-third of the funding round and helped give investors greater confidence in the business.

The funding will support Affinity Labs as it moves beyond its initial products and works toward establishing a larger portfolio of applications.

Three live apps and early traction

Affinity Labs currently operates three live applications, according to Ricci, with another product, Batootah, on a waitlist. The company is also developing additional products with creator partners.

One of its applications is Archives, an Islamic history app that the company says has attracted more than 75,000 users. The milestone provides an early indication of the potential audience for products developed around specific interests and communities.

Ricci also says portfolio revenue has doubled every month for three consecutive months, starting from zero. While the company has not disclosed the absolute revenue figures in the article, the reported growth suggests that Affinity Labs is beginning to test the commercial potential of its operating model.

The startup says products four through seven have already been signed, and another application is scheduled to launch by the end of 2026. Its longer-term ambition is to operate more than 200 brands by 2030.

Reaching that target would require Affinity Labs to repeatedly identify promising creator partnerships, turn audience interests into useful products, and build sustainable revenue streams across different applications. The shared infrastructure is central to this strategy because the company wants to scale the number of brands without proportionally increasing its workforce.

The business currently has a team of 10 people, all based in the UK. For now, the company is concentrating on the UK market while keeping the United States under consideration for future expansion.

Why Affinity Labs is drawing comparisons with Bending Spoons

The comparison with Bending Spoons reflects Affinity Labs' ambition to build a portfolio of software businesses under one operational structure.

Rather than treating each application as an isolated startup, the company intends to reuse technology, operational processes, and engineering resources across multiple products. Its AI-focused infrastructure is designed to make that approach more manageable as the portfolio grows.

The strategy also reflects a broader shift in how consumer software businesses may be built. If AI reduces some of the time and resources required to develop applications, access to customers and the ability to maintain their engagement could become more important differentiators.

Creators may offer a head start because they have already built relationships with audiences. However, having a large following does not automatically guarantee that people will download an app, continue using it, or pay for its services.

Affinity Labs must demonstrate that creator-led distribution can translate into sustained product adoption and repeat revenue. It also needs to show that its shared infrastructure can support a growing number of brands without sacrificing product quality or increasing operational complexity.

Challenges and what comes next

Despite its early traction, Affinity Labs faces a central question: can creator audiences become durable software customer bases?

The company is betting that creators can move beyond sponsorships and merchandise into software products that generate value over time. Its model could give creators a way to participate in building technology businesses while relying on a specialised team for development and operations.

However, consumer apps operate in competitive markets, and audiences may not automatically transfer their loyalty from a creator's content to a separate product. Retention, customer acquisition, monetisation, and the usefulness of each application will ultimately determine whether the portfolio can scale.

The company's ambition to build more than 200 brands by 2030 is therefore a significant execution challenge. It will need a repeatable method for selecting product ideas, finding suitable creator partners, launching applications, and identifying which brands deserve additional investment.

For now, Affinity Labs is using its $2 million funding round and Innovate UK grant to develop its platform and expand its portfolio. Its next milestone will be demonstrating whether the early traction reported by its existing applications can be replicated across more creator-led brands.

If the model works, Affinity Labs could offer creators a route into software entrepreneurship without requiring each one to build an independent technology company. If audiences do not convert into lasting customers, the business may remain a small app studio dependent on external creator distribution