CHAOS, a London-based app that brings music creators’ messaging, files and live writing sessions into one place, has raised £1m in a pre-seed round led by Bridford Group, the company announced yesterday.
Amuse, the international music distribution company, also took part, alongside a group of investors and operators from across the music industry, CHAOS said. The company plans to use the money to expand across the UK and the US ahead of its public launch on 29 October.
Founded 18 months ago by 19 year old Ruhan Verma (pictured), a self-taught musician and producer, CHAOS has grown from a solo project into a hybrid UK and US operation with a waitlist of more than 15,000 creators, according to the company.
The app combines communication, files, feedback, sharing and what the company calls lossless live writing rooms. CHAOS said its core feature is a provenance layer that fingerprints contributions and keeps a record of the creative process, so that each contributor’s work is recognised and attributed.
Verma set up the business after years of watching creative work split across messaging threads, disconnected files and separate software, which the company said made attribution difficult.
The funding will go towards advanced collaboration features and the wider infrastructure around the platform, CHAOS said. The company said it would build intelligence into that infrastructure to organise information, understand projects and automate repetitive work, while leaving the making of music to people.
Music is the initial focus, but CHAOS said it is rebuilding the product around collaboration as its core function ahead of the wider launch, and that its long-term thesis extends beyond music.
The company has also opened a London office with an in-house recording studio for artists and producers. Its six-person team is split between London and New York, and CHAOS said every member is a musician or producer.
Verma said: “I started producing music when I was 13, and over the years I’ve been lucky enough to work with some incredible artists and producers. So much effort that goes into the creative process gets lost purely because of disconnected tools and current creator tools felt outdated.”
He added: “This investment will support our growth and ambition to be the single source of truth in the industry, just like Notion is for businesses. There is an opportunity here to improve tools available to creators and build CHAOS, to replace music’s outdated and fragmented software. We are grateful to our investors and industry leaders backing our vision.”
Bridford Group invests its own capital in founder-led businesses in sectors including music, technology, life sciences and sustainability, according to CHAOS. Amuse is a digital music distribution company for independent artists and labels.
Bridford Group said: “Ruhan is the kind of founder we look to back at Bridford. He has lived the problem he’s solving, and in just 18 months he has taken CHAOS from a solo project to a team across London and New York with more than 15,000 creators waiting to get on the platform. He understands how artists and producers actually work, and he has a very clear vision. We are excited to be involved with CHAOS and back Ruhan as he builds the home for creative collaboration.”
Giorgio D’Ambrosio, chief executive of Amuse, said: “Amuse exists to help the next generation of artists and labels release music and build careers, effortlessly and on their own terms. CHAOS shares that belief and adds something the industry increasingly needs: provenance.”
He added: “A clear record of every contribution will not only facilitate releasing and managing catalogs, but play an increasingly bigger role in which music gets heard, and we’re proud to back Ruhan and the CHAOS team building it.”
UK start-ups raised $17bn in the first half of 2026, according to Dealroom and HSBC Innovation Banking, as reported by Business Matters in July. A British Business Bank report published last month found that UK venture capital returns have matched those in the US over the long term.
The UK music industry contributed a record £8bn in gross value added to the economy in 2024, up 5 per cent on 2023, according to UK Music’s This Is Music 2025 report.
Jamie Young
Jamie Young is Senior Reporter at Business Matters, covering SME finance, employment law and Westminster policy since 2016. He has reported on every Budget and Autumn Statement since 2018, helped make sense of the 'covid era' and the bounce-back loan scheme from launch through the fraud investigations, and broke the magazine's coverage of the 2024 late-payment reforms. He joined Business Matters straight from completing his BA in Administration from Exeter University and is NCTJ-qualified. Reach him at jyoung@cbmeg.co.uk
