Unveilr AI, a Mumbai-based AI search startup, has raised ₹16.7 crore in pre-seed funding from AJVC, the early-stage venture fund led by Aviral Bhatnagar. The company plans to use the new capital to grow its engineering team and sales team as it expands across India, the UAE, and the US.
The funding comes at a time when the way people search for information is changing fast. For years, people used Google to find websites, products, services, and companies. Now, many people also ask AI tools such as ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, and Claude for direct answers.
This change has created a new problem for businesses. A company may have a good website and a strong position on Google, but that does not always mean an AI system will mention it in an answer.
Unveilr AI wants to solve that problem.
The startup helps brands improve their presence across both traditional search engines and AI search platforms. Its main focus is AI Search and Answer Engine Optimization, or AEO.
A Startup Built for a New Search Habit
Unveilr AI was founded by Sanditya Srivastava and launched in February 2026. The company is still very young, but it has already raised ₹16.7 crore in its first reported funding round.
Its basic idea is easy to understand.
When a person wants to buy something or hire a service, they may no longer visit many websites first. Instead, they can ask an AI tool a direct question.
A person may ask ChatGPT which lawyer to hire. Another person may ask which clinic is suitable for a certain service. Someone else may ask which software product is best for a business.
The AI system may then give only a few names.
For a brand, this creates a new challenge. If its name does not appear in the answer, the company may lose a possible customer before that person even visits its website.
Unveilr wants to help brands become one of the names that AI systems mention and recommend.
What Is Answer Engine Optimization?
Answer Engine Optimization is often called AEO. It is a newer form of search work that focuses on AI-generated answers.
Traditional SEO tries to help a website appear higher on search engine results pages. AEO has a different goal. It tries to improve the chance that an AI system will use a brand or its website as a source in an answer.
Unveilr combines both approaches.
Its platform tracks how brands appear on traditional search engines as well as AI systems. It looks at questions that potential buyers may ask and checks which companies appear in the answers.
The system can also identify cases where a competitor appears instead of the client’s brand. It then maps the sources that AI systems use for those answers.
The company says its team uses this information to improve content, technical elements, and brand authority.
Why AI Search Matters for Brands
Search has always played an important role in customer discovery.
A person who wants to buy a product may search for reviews. Someone who needs professional help may look for a service provider. A company may search for software before it contacts a vendor.
AI tools can now bring several parts of that research process into one answer.
Instead of showing ten or twenty links, an AI system may provide a short answer with two or three recommended names.
This can make visibility inside AI answers very valuable for businesses.
Unveilr founder Sanditya Srivastava described the change in simple terms. He said a buyer may ask ChatGPT which lawyer, clinic, or software product to choose and receive only two or three names. If a brand is not among those names, it may lose the lead before the buyer reaches its website.
This is the market Unveilr wants to serve.
How Unveilr’s Platform Works
Unveilr uses proprietary AI agents to track brand visibility across AI platforms.
The company says these agents monitor how a brand appears in AI answers. They also find buyer questions where competitors receive recommendations.
The system then looks at the sources that AI engines use for their answers.
This information gives Unveilr a picture of where a brand has strong visibility and where it has gaps.
The company then combines its technology with human SEO and AEO specialists. They work on content, technical improvements, and brand authority.
This is important because Unveilr does not present itself as only a software dashboard. Its current model also includes human experts who work on the changes required for clients. The company’s own website describes the service as a managed engagement in which AI agents and people work together.
The Difference Between SEO and AEO
SEO has been part of digital marketing for many years.
Companies use SEO to help their pages appear in search results when people type specific keywords into Google and other search engines.
AEO deals with a newer type of search.
When someone asks an AI platform a question, the system may create an answer instead of showing a normal list of links.
For example, a user may ask, “Which software is best for a small business?” The AI may provide a short answer with several products.
The companies named in that response gain direct exposure to the person who asked the question.
Unveilr wants to help brands improve their chance of appearing in such answers.
The company therefore combines SEO and AEO instead of treating them as two completely separate activities. Its website says it tracks Google search and AI answers together.
Reported Results for an Indian B2B Client
Unveilr says its customers can see results within the first month.
One example comes from an Indian B2B legal-services platform. According to Unveilr, the client saw AI-sourced traffic rise about 4.7 times.
The company also says the client’s leads rose five times.
It further reports an approximately 80% increase in ChatGPT citations for the same client.
These figures are company-reported results rather than independent research.
Still, they show the type of result Unveilr is trying to deliver. The company says it does not want to measure success only through search rankings or AI mentions.
Its larger goal is to connect search visibility with leads.
That means the company wants to know whether better visibility can bring real business opportunities.
Results for a D2C Brand
Unveilr also reported results for a D2C brand.
According to the company, organic search now accounts for about 27% of the brand’s total revenue.
Organic search refers to traffic that comes through unpaid search results.
This type of traffic can matter a lot for consumer brands. A person who finds a product through search may already have some interest in buying it.
Unveilr’s approach is to connect this traditional search traffic with the newer AI search channel.
The idea is that brands should not have to choose between Google and AI platforms. They should have a strategy for both.
The Role of AI Agents
AI agents are at the centre of Unveilr’s product.
The company uses different agents for tasks such as research, competitor analysis, website audits, content, publishing, outreach, refresh work, and tracking.
One agent can study the questions that potential customers ask.
Another can look at competitors and see which websites AI systems cite when they recommend those competitors.
A separate system can check technical parts of a website.
Content tools can then help create pages based on real buyer questions.
The company also has a tracking system that checks live answers from AI platforms.
Its website says it tracks ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, Claude, and Grok, along with Google.
Why Competitor Data Matters
A brand cannot improve its AI visibility if it does not know why another company appears in an answer instead.
That is why competitor analysis forms an important part of Unveilr’s approach.
The platform checks which competitors receive citations and which sources those AI systems use.
For example, if an AI system often cites a certain publication or website when it recommends a competitor, that source may be useful for understanding how the competitor has built authority.
Unveilr can then use that information to identify gaps in the client’s own presence.
This is different from simply checking a Google ranking.
AI answers can depend on many sources, pages, mentions, and signals. A company therefore needs a broader view of how AI systems understand its brand.
The Company Looks Beyond Its Own Website
Unveilr’s approach is not limited to changes on a customer’s website.
Its platform also studies third-party sources such as Reddit, Quora, and other forums because AI systems may use these sources when they create answers.
This matters because a brand’s reputation does not exist only on its own website.
People discuss companies on other websites. Reviews appear on third-party platforms. Industry publications may mention a business. Online communities may also discuss its products.
AI systems can use such information as part of their answers.
Unveilr says its team looks at these sources and works on areas where a brand has gaps.
The company also says human approval remains part of its outreach process.
Expansion Across Three Markets
The new ₹16.7 crore funding will help Unveilr expand across India, the UAE, and the United States.
These are important markets for the company because each has a large group of businesses that depend on search and online customer discovery.
India is the company’s home market. The UAE gives it access to a strong business market with many companies that serve customers across regions.
The US is one of the world’s largest markets for software, professional services, e-commerce, and technology.
Unveilr wants to build its sales presence across all three areas while also expanding its engineering capacity.
More Investment in Engineering
A part of the new capital will go toward engineering.
This is important because AI search changes very quickly.
AI models receive updates. Search systems change. New platforms appear. The way AI systems select sources can also change.
A company that works in this field needs technology that can track these changes.
Unveilr says it plans to expand the capabilities of its AI agents with the new funds. It also plans to build its sales organization across its target markets.
The aim is to improve the product while also reaching more customers.
The Future of AI Search
Unveilr believes the change will go beyond today’s AI chat tools.
The company expects AI agents to become more capable of research, comparison, and eventually purchases.
That could create a major change in how people choose products and services.
Today, a person may search Google, read several pages, compare prices, check reviews, and then visit a company’s website.
In the future, an AI agent could perform much of that work.
It could research several options, compare them, ask follow-up questions, and perhaps even complete a purchase.
If that happens at a large scale, being visible inside AI answers could become even more important for brands.
A Young Company in a Fast Market
Unveilr is still a very young startup. It launched in February 2026 and has already raised ₹16.7 crore in pre-seed capital.
Its focus is also quite specific.
Rather than build another general AI chatbot, it wants to help companies get noticed by AI systems.
That gives it a clear market position, but the market itself is still new.
There is also no guarantee that today’s AI search habits will remain the same. Platforms can change their products, models can change how they select sources, and users may develop new ways to find information.
Unveilr therefore needs to keep its technology and service model flexible.
AJVC’s Support
The funding comes from Aviral Bhatnagar’s AJVC.
Bhatnagar said Unveilr’s methods were already showing traction and visibility. He also said the startup had strong adoption across AJVC’s portfolio and described its use as a sign of general-purpose utility.
The investment gives Unveilr access to more capital at an early stage.
For AJVC, the deal also gives the fund exposure to a new area of AI: the tools that help companies appear inside AI-generated answers.
The funding therefore reflects interest not only in AI models themselves but also in the new business services that can grow around them.
Why This Funding Is Important
The ₹16.7 crore pre-seed round gives Unveilr the money it needs to grow at a time when AI search is still at an early stage.
The startup wants to expand its engineering team, improve its AI agents, and build a stronger sales operation.
Its target markets are India, the UAE, and the US.
The company has also reported strong early results, including a 4.7-times rise in AI-sourced traffic, a five-times increase in leads, and an approximately 80% increase in ChatGPT citations for an Indian B2B legal-services client. For a D2C brand, Unveilr says organic search now makes up about 27% of total revenue.
These results come from Unveilr and have not been independently verified in the available report.
The Bigger Change in Search
The larger story behind this startup is the change in how people find information.
Search once meant typing words into Google and choosing from a list of websites.
Now, a user can ask an AI platform a full question and receive a direct answer.
That change creates a new form of competition for businesses.
A company may still want a high Google position, but it may also want AI platforms to mention its name, cite its website, and recommend its services.
Unveilr AI is building its business around this new need.
What Comes Next for Unveilr AI
With ₹16.7 crore in pre-seed funding, Unveilr now has the resources to expand its technology and market reach.
The company wants to improve its AI agents, grow its engineering capacity, and build its sales team across India, the UAE, and the US.
Its broader goal is to help brands stay visible as search moves from traditional search engines toward AI answers and AI agents.
The company was founded only in February 2026, so its journey is still at an early stage. But the funding shows that investors see a market for tools that help businesses adapt to AI-led discovery.
If more consumers start to ask AI systems what to buy, who to hire, or which service to choose, the brands that appear in those answers may gain an important source of new leads.
Unveilr AI wants to make sure its customers are among those brands.
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