Cheerio AI, an Indian AI-driven customer engagement platform, has raised ₹8 crore in a seed round led by Artha Venture Fund II, signalling strengthened investor interest in enterprise AI tools that automate customer communication and marketing workflows. The funding will accelerate product development, AI capability building and market expansion.
Investors and use of funds
Alongside Artha Venture Fund, the round included participation from Hyderabad Angels, TiE Angels, LetsVenture, Invention Engine and several angel investors. Cheerio AI plans to deploy the capital to enhance its multi-modal AI stack, broaden product offerings and scale operations for both domestic and international customers.
Building proprietary models and multi-channel engagement
The company said a primary focus will be developing a proprietary small-model large language model (LLM) optimised for advertising and marketing content generation. Cheerio AI is also expanding beyond text messaging to add voice and video channels, enabling enterprises to automate richer customer journeys across multiple touchpoints.
Enhancements to enterprise-grade infrastructure, reliability and automation features are planned to make the platform suitable for large-scale deployments that integrate marketing, sales and support workflows.
Hiring and international expansion
Cheerio AI intends to ramp up hiring over the next six months, recruiting across engineering, AI research, enterprise sales and customer success. These hires will support new product development, operational scale-up and the company’s push into new international markets as it pursues growth among global enterprise clients.
Product positioning and traction
Founded by Nishant Das with co-founders Avinash and Priam, Cheerio AI positions itself as a unified customer engagement platform that improves the relationship between customer acquisition cost (CAC) and lifetime value (LTV). The platform consolidates WhatsApp, email, SMS, social messaging and in-app communication, enabling automated workflows, personalised campaigns and streamlined support.
The startup says it serves over 150 enterprise customers across six industries, attributes more than ₹500 crore in incremental revenue to its retention automation capabilities, and has recorded roughly 450% year-on-year revenue growth over the past two years.
Market context
The deal comes as enterprises increasingly adopt specialised AI tools to enhance customer engagement, marketing efficiency and operational automation. Investors are showing growing appetite for startups that deliver measurable business outcomes through applied AI, and Cheerio AI’s latest funding reflects this broader shift in enterprise technology investment.
