Mumbai-based SEO and Answer Engine Optimisation startup Unveilr AI has raised ₹16.7 crore (about $1.74 million) in a pre-seed round from AJVC, reported on October 2, 2026.
Founded in February 2026 by Sanditya Srivastava, Unveilr helps B2B and consumer brands win visibility not just on traditional search but inside AI answers — ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, Claude, Grok and Google's AI Overviews. The pitch: as users research purchases through AI platforms, only a handful of brands get cited per query, and those citations are becoming an acquisition channel in their own right.
The company runs a managed-service model rather than a software-only dashboard. Its AI agents monitor how brands appear in AI-generated answers, flag buyer queries where competitors get recommended, and analyse the sources AI engines cite; SEO and AEO specialists then work on content, technical fixes, publishing and brand authority to lift the odds of being surfaced.
Unveilr says customers can see results within the first month — in one engagement with an Indian B2B legal-services platform, AI-sourced traffic rose 4.7x, leads fivefold and ChatGPT citations about 80% (company-reported, not independently verified). It has worked with more than 10 B2B and B2C brands since launch, and is expanding an agency-partnership model with three slots across India and Dubai, two of which are already taken.
The fresh capital will expand its engineering capacity, strengthen its AI-agent capabilities and build sales operations across India, the UAE and the US — the three markets it currently serves. The longer-term bet: as AI agents begin researching, comparing and transacting on behalf of consumers, visibility inside AI answers becomes the new search rankings.
Why it matters for founders
For founders, Answer Engine Optimisation is moving from hype to line item — Unveilr's raise is AJVC's bet that brands will pay for being cited by AI. If your growth team still optimises only for blue links, start tracking where your brand shows up in ChatGPT and Perplexity answers now.