Dashverse, a full-stack AI entertainment company developing platforms for mobile-first entertainment, has raised $13 million in its Series A funding round led by Peak XV Partners (formerly Sequoia Capital India & SEA).
The round also saw participation from returning investors Z47 (formerly Matrix Partners India) and Stellaris Venture Partners.
Founded in 2023 in Bengaluru by Sanidhya Narain, Lalith Gudipati, and Soumyadeep Mukherjee, Dashverse is a full-stack entertainment company that leverages proprietary AI technology to revolutionise content creation and storytelling.
Dashverse first proved its model with Dashtoon, its popular AI-powered platform for creating and distributing digital comics. Building on that success, the company has taken an integrated approach to video, with Frameo.AI enabling creators to generate high-quality serialized content using AI, and DashReels distributing these mobile-first microdramas to a growing global audience.
DashReels, their newly launched microdrama app, has surpassed 5 million downloads within a month of launch.
Together, this ecosystem has propelled Dashverse to over 20 million users worldwide, establishing it as a frontrunner in AI-native entertainment.
Sanidhya Narain, Co-founder and CEO of Dashverse, said, “We’re entering a new era where content creation is no longer gated by resources, but by imagination. Just as camera phones turned everyone into a creator and unlocked platforms like Instagram and TikTok, generative AI will do the same for storytelling, but with far more powerful formats. This funding fuels our mission to build the creative infrastructure for this shift where mobile-first, serialized content becomes the default, not the exception.”
Abhishek Mohan, Principal at Peak XV, said, “The creator economy is undergoing a seismic shift driven by generative AI, and Dashverse is at the very heart of this transformation. Their unique approach, combining proprietary AI with a deep understanding of storytelling and creator workflows, sets them apart. We were impressed by the team’s execution, the rapid traction of their consumer apps, and their ambitious vision to build the engine for modern entertainment. We are thrilled to partner with them.”
Aakash Kumar, Managing Director at Z47, said, “Dashverse is building a powerful engine for mobile-first, AI-native storytelling, at a pace that matches how audiences consume today. As one of India’s most promising AI startups, they reflect the country’s growing edge in global innovation. With a category-defining product and founder-led ambition, Dashverse is shaping the future of entertainment.”
Naman Lahoty, Partner at Stellaris Venture Partners, said, “We partnered with Lalith, Sanidhya, and Soumyadeep at the idea stage, when they were already ahead of the curve, envisioning an AI-native future for entertainment well before the world knew of ChatGPT. Today, they’ve built one of the finest applied-AI teams in the country. Doubling down on our investment reflects our deep conviction in their ability to build a global, category-defining company in this space.”
