Peak XV invests in five AI startups at pitchfest

The details

• Peak XV invested in five early-stage AI startups at the Impact AI PitchFest during the India AI Impact Summit 2026.
• The startups are Companion Labs, Kello, Memfold AI, Round1, and Zoop.
• Companion Labs is a vernacular, entertainment-led AI platform for interactive storytelling and alternate lives.
• Kello is a recruitment platform that analyzes real-world capability signals, moving away from pedigree-based hiring.
• Memfold AI builds AI-native workspaces beyond standard document editors for knowledge workers.
• Round1 is an AI-led hiring funnel efficiency platform.
• Zoop provides scalable AI agents for the commerce sector, handling voice cataloguing, social media marketing, and real-time sales coaching.
• Peak XV's investments signal a shift toward AI-native startups building entire value propositions around AI.

The bigger picture

• Peak XV is a global VC firm investing across seed to growth stages, with a portfolio including Airalo, CRED, GoTo Group, Insider, Mamaearth, Meesho, BlinkIt, OYO, Pine Labs, PostHog, Razorpay, Supabase, Tabby, and Zomato.
• The investments were made at a pitchfest, indicating a focus on early-stage AI innovation in India.
• The startups span diverse AI applications: entertainment, recruitment, productivity, hiring efficiency, and commerce.

About the business

• Peak XV is a global venture capital firm investing across seed to growth stages.
• Its portfolio includes companies like Airalo, CRED, GoTo Group, Insider, Mamaearth, Meesho, BlinkIt, OYO, Pine Labs, PostHog, Razorpay, Supabase, Tabby, and Zomato.
• Companion Labs is a vernacular, entertainment-led AI platform for interactive storytelling and alternate lives.
• Kello is a recruitment platform analyzing real-world capability signals, moving away from pedigree-based hiring.
• Kello has mapped 32 million professionals and targets 100 million by end of 2026.
• Memfold AI builds AI-native workspaces beyond standard document editors for knowledge workers.
• Round1 is an AI-led hiring funnel efficiency platform that conducts over 500 AI-led interviews daily with a 90% qualification rate from first to second interview round.
• Zoop provides scalable AI agents for the commerce sector, handling voice cataloguing, social media marketing, and real-time sales coaching.

The deal

Type

seed

Investors

• Peak XV (lead) — Global venture capital firm investing across seed to growth stages; portfolio includes Airalo, CRED, GoTo Group, Insider, Mamaearth, Meesho, BlinkIt, OYO, Pine Labs, PostHog, Razorpay, Supabase, Tabby, Zomato.

Founders

• Shailendra J. Singh, Founder
• Rajan Anandan, Founder
• Akshay Jhanwar, Co-founder of Companion Labs
• Ajit Pol, Co-founder of Companion Labs
• Vinod Ganesan, Co-founder of Memfold AI
• Nischith Shadagopan, Co-founder of Memfold AI
• Saumil Tripathi, Co-founder of Round1
• Shreeyash Dharmadhikari, Co-founder of Round1
• Jainam Talsania, Co-founder of Round1

Other articles talking about it

• Indian Startup Times
• Entrackr

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