With participation from All In Capital, UntitledVC, DeVC, and other angel investors, Companion Labs, a consumer AI company creating interactive, entertainment-led experiences for India’s vernacular and culturally diverse audiences, has raised $2.5 million in a seed funding round headed by Peak XV’s Surge.
The announcement comes after Companion Labs attended the India AI Impact Summit 2026 in Delhi last week and was highlighted at the Impact AI PitchFest, the summit’s premier event.
According to a press release from Companion Labs, the proceeds will be used to invest in AI capabilities, expedite product development, and keep improving the product as it strives for product market fit.
Companion Labs is a consumer AI company that was co-founded in early 2025 by Akshay Jhanwar and Ajit Pol. It creates interactive, entertainment-driven experiences specifically for India’s vernacular and culturally diverse audiences. The startup allows users to explore different lives, careers, and aspirations in highly local contexts by using AI-powered characters and narratives.
Using AI-powered narratives, the Bengaluru-based startup creates immersive, character-driven experiences that let users explore different lives, careers, and aspirations. It views AI as a creative tool that allows individuals to lead parallel lives in highly contextualized worlds influenced by language, culture, and individual aspirations.
Companion Labs claims that it is starting from scratch with experiences tailored to the linguistic, cultural, and social subtleties of Tier 2, Tier 3, and Tier 4 audiences in India. Targeting a youthful, aspirational, and digitally native demographic, the startup focuses on vernacular languages such as Tamil, Telugu, Gujarati, Punjabi, Marathi, and Bengali.
The company’s long-term goal is to create a new class of AI-native entertainment tailored to the vernacular internet users of India.
