Cheerio AI raises seed funding led by Artha Venture Fund II
06 Mar 2026, 11:45 AMThe funding round saw participation from Hyderabad Angels, TiE Angels, LetsVenture, Invention Engine, and angel investors Arjun Vaidya, Anand Shahni, Vivek Mathur, Ajeet Khurana, and Nitin Verma.
Team Head&Tale
Share the story on
Artificial intelligence (AI) powered customer engagement platform Cheerio AI has secured Rs 8 crore in seed capital in a round led by Artha Venture Fund II (AVF II).
The funding round saw participation from Hyderabad Angels, TiE Angels, LetsVenture, Invention Engine, and angel investors Arjun Vaidya, Anand Shahni, Vivek Mathur, Ajeet Khurana, and Nitin Verma.
The Bengaluru-based company will use the capital to improve multi-modal AI capabilities, such as expanding its messaging capabilities to voice and video, driving AI-enabled automation, and enhancing enterprise-grade features, a press release said.
Cheerio AI is an AI-backed customer relationship management (CRM) & automation platform that helps businesses enhance operational workflows and improve customer engagement. It was founded by Nishant Das, Avinash Upadhyay and Priam Jain in 2021.
The AI-enabled CRM brings together marketing, support, sales, and communication into one platform and lets clients engage customers in a diverse range of channels that include WhatsApp, email, SMS, socials DMs, etc.
It wants to expand its engineering, AI, enterprise sales, and customer success teams over the next six months in order to achieve global scale.
"Our decision to back Cheerio AI reflects our strong conviction in the long-term opportunity this team is building toward - and the role they can play in shaping the future of enterprise engagement." Artha Group stated in a LinkedIn post.
AVF II by Artha India Ventures focuses on seed-stage startups in sectors like premium consumption, fintech infrastructure, applied AI, and deep tech. The fund will invest in 36 startups with initial investments of Rs 4 crore and follow-ups of Rs 16 crore.
Who Reads Us
“I enjoy reading The Head and Tale for their coverage on the Fintech landscape. The reporting is incisive and honest, and it demonstrates a sharp understanding of the industry and the issues that concern it. I'd like to extend my best wishes to Arti for her continued success.”
“Well-researched, informative and analysis based reporting makes an interesting read. 'The Head and Tale' news portal has been demonstrating this quite well covering fintech and emerging tech sectors. Their timely updates, exclusive stories and different perspectives on these sectors help me stay informed. Kudos to Arti Singh for pursuing her passion and best wishes to the team.”
“The Head and Tale stands out for its deep industry knowledge and impressive network of sources. I especially appreciate that the reporting remains independent, rarely resorting to paid puff pieces, making it a publication I can genuinely trust. Having followed Arti’s work for years, I’ve come to rely on The Head and Tale for its unparalleled insight and truly independent coverage. Arti’s long-standing presence in the sector means her reporting is always informed, with access few can match.”
“What I really appreciate about The Head and Tale is that it doesn’t just report the news, it interprets it. The stories are well-researched, comprehensive, and bold. Arti brings a fearless lens to reporting, often asking the uncomfortable but necessary questions. She makes you pause, reflect, and rethink what it all means for the payments and fintech ecosystem. It’s rare to find journalism that’s this sharp, timely, and relevant to the work we do every day.”
“I’ve always valued journalism that goes beyond surface-level headlines. The Head and Tale does exactly that - it connects the dots, asks the tough questions, and brings clarity to the shifts shaping our evolving industry. I’ve even encouraged my team members to subscribe, because staying informed through credible, deeply reported stories is as important as building products. For me, The Head and Tale has become part of essential reading.”
Related News