London-based toolset provider for game developers JECO has successfully raised $1.3 million (£960,000) in a pre-seed funding round.
The round was led by the British Business Bank’s Regional Angels Programme, facilitated by UK fund Haatch, alongside sector-focused investor group The Games Angels. Additional support came from Innovate UK and Creative UK’s Creative Enterprise programme.
JECO was co-founded by a Forbes 30Under30 female entrepreneur, Emily Bailey, alongside an established industry professional with more than 25 years in the gaming and technology industry.
JECO is developing a suite of automated tooling solutions aimed at powering game developers to build better-performing and more sustainable games, without disrupting existing workflows. The company’s mission is to streamline game development by removing repetitive, low-value tasks that slow teams down.
We are delighted to make this first co-investment with the Games Angels as part of the Regional Angels Programme. The investment into JECO aligns with our programme goals to strengthen the UK’s regional economy and, leverage investment potential into innovating entrepreneurs in key sectors.
Mark Barry, Senior Investment Director at British Business Bank
The investment will be used to accelerate product development, expand the engineering team, and deepen partnerships with early-access game studios already testing JECO’s tools. The startup is currently working with multiple studio partners to iterate on features and usability based on real-world feedback.
JECO was born out of the belief that if developers are given frictionless ways to improve and enhance their development processes, they can find quicker, cost effective routes to market, and can also start to play an important role in addressing wider environmental issues that may impact our industry in the future.
Simon and I are incredibly grateful to all our investors for supporting us in our mission; to support developers in making positive behavioural changes through the power of technology.
CEO and Co-Founder Emily Bailey, JECO
Software development is fundamentally flawed. It’s built fast and on tight budgets, where performance is an afterthought, and is costly and time-consuming to fix.
I thought Co-founders Emily and Simon were building an incredibly strong team around an idea that addresses this, and simply makes so much sense, so it was a fairly easy choice to invest. What they have already achieved is phenomenal and I think JECO will have a great impact over the next few years.
Nick Button-Brown, Lead Investor, former Chair of the BAFTA Games Committee, and now Founder at Games Angels
