London-based TILKI outlined its plans for platform development, community features, and broader market participation, supported by investment from several venture firms.
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London-based TILKI, an AI-powered game creation platform, has raised $2.2M (nearly €1.89M) in a pre-seed funding round. The platform enables consumers to create video games without coding.
The round was led by early-stage venture capital firm Twin Path Ventures, with participation from Atlas AI^VB Fund I (Atlas sgr), XTX Ventures, and SFC Capital.
Aligning game makers with AI innovations
Founded in 2024, TILKI is an AI-powered game creation platform that enables creators, including children, novelists, and professional game designers, to develop game worlds without coding.
Games on the platform are built in real time and adjust to player choices. Player actions and decisions have lasting effects on the game environment, and non-player characters operate autonomously, allowing storylines to change through interaction.
Barn Cleave, co-founder and CEO of TILKI, says, “AI is not just going to tweak the end of the development pipeline with NPC and asset generation. AI is going to start the pipeline and run throughout, creating new video game experiences that evolve dynamically around the player.”
TILKI’s model is built as an AI-first creation and distribution system rather than adding AI to existing game engines.
In a TILKI game, NPCs move independently, make decisions that influence the world, and create lasting changes to the environment. These interactions generate evolving storylines instead of fixed, pre-scripted scenarios.
For instance, an innkeeper might accept payment for lodging or, if persuaded, initiate a rebellion by spreading a call to arms to nearby characters, leading to a chain reaction that mobilises an entire town.
The company aims to make game creation accessible to a wide range of creators and to expand participation in a global games market.
TILKI’s 17-member team includes video game developers, AI researchers, and machine learning engineers with experience creating games for Atari, Sony, Microsoft, and NVIDIA.
Nick Slater, Partner at Twin Path Ventures, mentions, “The strength of TILKI’s team was a key factor in our investment. The blend of experience they bring – from gaming and AI to mathematics and product development – struck us as unique, and we’re confident it will be instrumental in realising their vision.”
TILKI’s senior team has experience building a user-generated content platform for 14 million players, founding AI startups, playing Dungeons & Dragons, and publishing creative writing.
Capital utilisation
TILKI will use the funds to develop a closed beta scheduled for launch in six months, followed by an open beta within one year. The company also plans to build a marketplace where players can share strategies, exchange components, and collaborate on game elements.
Co-founder Barn Cleave says, “We see a future where anyone with a game idea can bring it to life, creating experiences that grow and evolve alongside the players.”
“By democratising game creation, we’re not just changing how games are made; we’re opening the door for entirely new voices to shape the medium. Through TILKI, we’re empowering the next generation of creators and helping transform the $176B global games market.”
