Peak XV leads $2.5 Mn round in Companion Labs
- ByStartupStory | February 26, 2026
Companion Labs, a consumer AI company building interactive, entertainment led experiences for India’s vernacular and culturally diverse audiences, has raised $2.5 million in a seed funding round led by Peak XV’s Surge, along with participation from All In Capital, UntitledVC, DeVC, and other angel investors.
The announcement follows Companion Labs’ participation at the India AI Impact Summit 2026 in Delhi last week, where the company was featured at the summit’s flagship Impact AI PitchFest.
The proceeds will be utilized to accelerate product development, invest in AI capabilities, and continue refining its product as it works toward product market fit, Companion Labs said in a press release.
Co founded in early 2025 by Akshay Jhanwar and Ajit Pol, Companion Labs is a consumer AI company building interactive, entertainment led experiences tailored for India’s vernacular and culturally diverse audiences. The startup leverages AI powered characters and narratives to let users explore alternate lives, careers, and aspirations in deeply local contexts.
The Bengaluru-based startup operates at the intersection of AI and entertainment, creating immersive, character driven experiences that allow users to explore alternate lives, careers, and aspirations through AI powered narratives. It treats AI as a creative medium, enabling people to live parallel lives in richly contextual worlds shaped by language, culture, and personal ambition.
According to Companion Labs, it is building from the ground up for India, with experiences designed to reflect the linguistic, cultural, and social nuances of Tier 2, Tier 3, and Tier 4 audiences. The startup is focused on vernacular languages including Tamil, Telugu, Gujarati, Punjabi, Marathi, and Bengali, targeting a young, aspirational, and digitally native population.
Over the long term, the company aims to define a new category of AI native entertainment built specifically for India’s vernacular internet users.
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