Peak XV unveils Surge 11 with 23 AI, fintech & consumer startups
Peak XV has launched Surge 11, a programme that brings together 23 startups operating across artificial intelligence, fintech, consumer products, and infrastructure from India, the Asia-Pacific region, and global markets.
The eleventh cohort of Surge includes 12 startups working on vertical, enterprise, and consumer AI products. Additionally, the selection features four companies specialising in fintech, another four in consumer brands, and three focused on infrastructure and developer tools.
Since Surge's inception in 2019, participating companies have collectively raised over USD $3 billion in follow-on funding. The top ten startups within the portfolio generate an aggregate annual revenue exceeding USD $1 billion. The wider Surge community now comprises more than 170 startups and 400 founders, spanning over 17 nationalities and engaging in at least 18 sectors.
Programmeme approach
Surge is structured to combine seed funding with access to mentorship from Peak XV's investment and operational teams. Participating founders engage in a suite of workshops and receive tailored guidance in areas such as product development, engineering, sales, marketing, organisational culture, and fundraising. The aim is to build strong foundations for early-stage companies.
"At Surge, we believe the seed stage is where the magic begins, and Surge 11 reflects the extraordinary entrepreneurial energy across our region. AI is leading the charge, not just in enterprise applications but by beginning to transform traditional industries from banking and healthcare, to semiconductors and manufacturing. We are also seeing the emergence of new consumer AI companies which is incredibly exciting. But AI is not the full story - we are now seeing the next wave of fintech companies and exciting new consumer companies in India and our region. This cohort truly offers a glimpse of the future," said Rajan Anandan, Managing Director, Peak XV and Surge.
A particular focus in this edition is on the growing impact of artificial intelligence. The cohort includes companies building AI systems for financial services, equity research, manufacturing, regulatory compliance, personalised marketing, recruitment, and database solutions. Startups such as AIR Trading, Finster, Ignosis, JustAI, Nirmata, OnFinance, Palo, Pre6, Qbeast, Round1, SixSense and three companies currently in stealth mode reflect this emphasis.
Industry areas
Fintech remains a significant segment with companies such as Cybrilla, which is working on wealth management infrastructure in India, OnFinance, which applies NeoGPT-based compliance solutions for financial services, Vault Wealth targeting the Middle East with digital investment advice, and Ignosis, offering AI-driven credit insights for banking and insurance.
Consumer brands in the cohort include Aretto, which has developed growth-adaptive children's footwear; Neude Skin, focused on milk-based skincare products; NEAU, an active lifestyle brand integrating textile technology; and Ten X You, a platform aiming to promote well-being through the return of 'play' for adults.
Among infrastructure and developer tools companies, there is Nirmata, which provides AI engineering platforms for DevSecOps tasks, Tonbo.io with serverless database solutions, and Qbeast, whose optimisation engine works with various Lakehouse platforms to improve query performance and flexibility.
Founder immersion and mentorship
The Surge programme includes a founder immersion segment, where participants interact with experienced entrepreneurs and industry leaders from the region and globally. Previous mentors and speakers have included Sanjeev Bikhchandani (Info Edge), Harshil Mathur (Razorpay), Vidit Aatrey (Meesho), Amrish Rau (Pinelabs), Kunal Shah (CRED), Gokul Rajaram, Arvind Jain (Glean), and Aman Sanger (Cursor).
For Surge 11, the founder immersion will involve direct engagement with global leaders in technology. Past immersions have provided access to figures such as Sam Altman at OpenAI, Jensen Huang at NVIDIA, Carl Eschenbach, Chief Executive Officer of Workday, and Sridhar Ramaswamy, Chief Executive Officer of Snowflake.
Alumni of previous Surge cohorts now return to mentor current founders, including Prukalpa Sankar (Atlan), Sagar Khatri (Multiplier), Bahadir Ozdemir (Airalo), Dhvanil Sheth (Skillmatics), Mohit Yadav (Minimalist), Sanket Shah (InVideo), and Asad Khan (LambdaTest).
Surge also hosts sessions led by global investors who offer advice on scaling businesses and raising capital. Recent mentors in this area have included Doug Leone (Sequoia Capital), Vinod Khosla (Khosla Ventures), and Chetan Puttagunta (Benchmark).
The Surge 11 cohort now joins a growing network of startups supported by the programme, which aims to provide resources and connections to help new founders build sustainable companies from the outset.
