Mumbai-based AI search startup Unveilr AI, founded by Sanditya Srivastava, has raised Rs 16.7 crore in pre-seed funding from Aviral Bhatnagar’s AJVC. The company will use the fresh capital to strengthen its engineering team, improve its AI technology and expand its sales team as it looks to grow across India, the UAE and the United States.
Founded in February 2026, Unveilr AI is building a platform that helps businesses get discovered not only on traditional search engines but also on AI-powered platforms such as ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, Claude and Google AI Overviews.
Turning AI Search Into Business Leads
The way people search for products and services is changing quickly. Instead of checking multiple websites on Google, consumers and business buyers are increasingly asking AI platforms for direct recommendations.
The challenge for brands is that AI-generated answers usually mention only a few businesses. If a company is not included in those recommendations, it can lose a potential customer before that person even visits its website.
Unveilr AI combines Search Engine Optimization (SEO) with Answer Engine Optimization (AEO) to help brands improve their visibility across both traditional search and AI search.
Its AI agents track how brands are appearing across different AI search platforms. They identify important buyer questions where competitors are being recommended and study the sources AI platforms use while creating their answers.
Unveilr’s SEO and AEO specialists then work on content, technical improvements and digital authority to help brands become more visible in relevant AI-generated responses.
Focus on Leads, Not Just Rankings
The company says its goal is not simply to improve search rankings. It wants that visibility to result in real business leads.
According to Unveilr AI, customers can start seeing results within the first month.
For an Indian B2B legal-services platform, the company reported a 4.7x increase in AI-sourced traffic and a 5x increase in leads, along with an around 80% rise in ChatGPT citations.
For a D2C brand, Unveilr said organic search currently contributes around 27% of total revenue, while most of the remaining revenue comes from performance marketing.
Aviral Bhatnagar, Founder of AJVC, said AI has become a new way for people to search and added that Unveilr’s early traction and adoption across AJVC’s portfolio show the wider use cases for the platform.
“If You’re Not Recommended, You Can Lose the Lead”
Sanditya Srivastava, Founder and CEO of Unveilr AI, believes AI search is changing the way customers discover businesses.
Today, a customer can ask ChatGPT which lawyer, clinic or software company they should choose and receive only two or three names. For brands, being part of those recommendations could become as important as ranking on traditional search engines.
Srivastava also believes AI search can create longer-term value for businesses. Paid campaigns and referrals can bring customers while the campaign is running, but organic content and AI citations can continue bringing visibility and leads over time.
Because of this, Unveilr measures its work not only through rankings but also through the number of leads generated for its customers.
AI Agents Could Change Brand Discovery
Unveilr expects AI-powered search to become an even bigger part of how people research and compare businesses.
The company believes AI agents could eventually go beyond answering questions and start researching options, comparing products and services, and even making purchases on behalf of users.
This could make visibility inside AI-generated recommendations an important growth channel for brands across sectors.
Unveilr AI Plans to Scale Across Three Markets
With the new Rs 16.7 crore funding, Unveilr AI plans to expand its engineering team and improve the capabilities of its AI agents. It will also grow its sales team to serve more businesses across India, the UAE and the US.
Founded by Sanditya Srivastava in February 2026, Unveilr AI is based in Mumbai and has a team that includes IIT alumni along with SEO and AEO specialists. The company works with both B2B and consumer brands across India, the UAE and the United States.
