SKWKY closes pre-seed round for AI conflict mediation tool

London-based SKWKY Ltd. has closed its SEIS pre-seed funding round with backing from City of London investment professionals. The father-son founders are targeting educators first, pitching the tool as a safer way to help manage conflict among students and others.

Why it matters: - SKWKY is entering a crowded AI market with a narrow use case: real-time mediation between two or more people. - The company is positioning safety, safeguarding and data protection as core features, which could matter to schools and other education settings wary of classroom AI. - The pre-seed backing signals early investor confidence in a product aimed at conflict resolution, not generic chatbot use.

What happened: - SKWKY Ltd. closed its SEIS pre-Seed funding round. - The round had 100% participation from City of London investment professionals. - The company is based in London, UK. - The founders are Chris Twyman and Jai Twyman, a father-son team. - Chris Twyman previously created and exited BoomWriter, a global EdTech writing platform.

The details: - SKWKY is described as an AI mediation tool that helps resolve real-time conflict between two or more people. - The product’s first focus is helping educators manage conflict inside and outside the classroom. - Jai Twyman said SKWKY is building a tool that starts with safeguarding users and their data. - Chris Twyman said educators are nervous about implementing AI in the classroom and that SKWKY is focused on safety and support for young people in conflict. - The platform has been trained to use restorative principles, emotional scoring and conflict resolution techniques. - One incoming investor said SKWKY offers a clear value proposition and a large market opportunity, and is not “AI for AI’s sake.”

Between the lines: - SKWKY is trying to differentiate itself from broader AI products by tying the technology to a specific human problem. - The education market may be the clearest early test because schools face pressure to adopt useful AI while avoiding safety and privacy risks. - The father-son founding story adds a personal angle, but the sharper signal is the product’s focus on trust and controlled use cases.

What’s next: - SKWKY appears to be moving toward early deployment in education settings. - The company will likely use the new funding to refine the product and expand its conflict-mediation use case. - Further investor and customer traction will show whether the platform can scale beyond its initial classroom focus.

The bottom line: - SKWKY is betting that AI adoption will grow fastest where the tool solves a clear, high-stakes problem with safety built in from the start.