Studio Atelico has raised $5 million in seed funding to advance the development of AI-powered games designed to deliver unprecedented gameplay experiences.
“Not ‘AI for AI’s sake.’ Not ‘Web3 meets the metaverse meets buzzword salad.’ Just… better games. New kinds of games. Games that feel alive. And AI is the tech to make that happen,” the company stated.
The investment will be used to produce games that exceed the limits of conventional, hand-authored pipelines. The vision includes reactive worlds, characters that respond dynamically to player actions like skilled improv actors, and storylines that expand organically rather than simply branching. The first Studio Atelico title is already in production, with additional details to be revealed in the near future.
In addition to creating original titles, Studio Atelico is developing the Atelico Engine—a toolkit enabling both internal teams and other game studios to craft AI-driven experiences without requiring large-scale budgets or specialized infrastructure. Designed for small, inventive, and ambitious teams, these tools will be made available to others whenever they enhance the creative process.
Ethics form a core principle of the company’s approach. Studio Atelico collaborates directly with artists to ensure fairness, consent, equitable compensation, and creative partnership throughout every stage — from model training to revenue distribution. Wherever feasible, AI processing will occur on-device. Partnerships will be limited to creators who share these values, and contributions will be made to open datasets prioritizing ethical considerations over rapid deployment.
“Creativity should be amplified, not replaced,” the company emphasized.
Chris Olson has joined Studio Atelico, bringing extensive experience in mobile games, studio management, and scaling creative teams to deliver the company’s vision to a global audience.
The round was led by Nathan Benaich of Air Street Capital, with participation from Parin Shah and Talfan Evans of Clay, Chris Ré and Samuel Jackson of Factory, Tommaso Moraca and Isabella Timossi of Vento, as well as angels including Thomas Wolf, Diego Oppenheimer, Alex Ratner, Theofanis Karaletsos, Maurizio Sciglio, Jacopo Tagliabue, Pancrazio Auteri, Alex Fred-Ojala, and Marcus Zethraeus of Predii. This group of investors brings deep expertise in both AI and gaming, reflecting strong support for Studio Atelico’s approach and long-term vision.