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What is Lumikai?
Lumikai is India’s first specialist VC fund dedicated to interactive media, digital platforms and games. It backs founders building the products, experiences, infrastructure and platforms that capture, retain and monetise attention, for consumers and for enterprises. It invests at the pre-seed and seed stage and runs Pixels, its pre-seed program for founders in their -1 to 10 journey.
What does Lumikai invest in?
Lumikai invests in attention and the interactive layer that holds it. Its thesis spans five layers:
- Original IP and Games: the stories, characters, gameplay and worlds that turn attention into enduring IP.
- Digital Platforms: streaming, audio, video, micro-dramas and social commerce, where audiences become communities.
- Tools, Tech and Infrastructure: the foundational technologies, engines, pipelines, design systems and AI infrastructure powering the creation, delivery and scale of next-generation interactive experiences
- Frontier: AR/VR, spatial computing and AI-native experiences, where interaction is the interface.
- Systems of Play: gamified learning, upskilling, health, fashion and finance, where game mechanics convert need into want.
Why does Lumikai invest in attention and interaction?
Attention drives the digital economy, and it has become interactive and scarce. A “Swipe before Type” generation expects every screen to respond. Grabbing attention is easy, but holding it is very hard. Interactive media is architecture that captures, retains and monetises attention. Games mastered engagement, retention and monetisation first, and those mechanics now shape how products, experiences, platforms get built across entertainment, learning, commerce, health and the enterprise, alongside the technology that enables them.
Our investment lens is not defined by a single content category or platform. We look for businesses that use interactivity, immersion and personalisation to create differentiated products, proprietary technology and durable enterprise value. Essentially, we invest in the experiences capturing attention, the platforms monetising it, and the technology infrastructure making those experiences possible.
What does Lumikai mean?
Lumi is Latin for light. Kai is Japanese for tribe. The name sums up how the fund works: founders first, and a tribe around them.
Who is behind Lumikai?
Lumikai is led by Salone Sehgal, Founder and Managing Partner. The broader leadership and advisory team is composed of domain experts, investors and industry leaders who have built and scaled category leading companies and seen the journey from seed to exit multiple times.
What is interactive media?
Interactive media is media that responds to its audience. It is built on immersion, interactivity and personalisation, and reaches people through products, experiences, apps and platforms. People play it, create with it, learn from it, talk to it, train through it and shop inside it. Games, micro-dramas, live commerce, AI tutors, immersive training and spatial experiences all sit here. It also comprises the tech and infrastructure layer that are foundational to enabling these experiences.
Does Lumikai only invest in games?
No. Games is one of five layers in the thesis. Lumikai backs any company building on immersion, interactivity and personalisation, and the interfaces and experiences underneath them. That covers consumer entertainment, AI-led learning, spirituality and live commerce. It also covers enterprise products such as industrial VR training, AI video workflows for broadcasters and AI co-creation tools for consumer brands. Importantly, we also invest in the underlying technology and infrastructure enabling the next generation of interactive experiences. This can also include foundational technologies such as AI, graphics, spatial computing, silicon design and real-time rendering.
Does Lumikai invest in B2B and enterprise companies?
Yes. While our thesis is rooted in understanding consumer behaviour and the evolution of interactive experiences, we invest across both consumer and enterprise businesses.
We back companies building the tools, technologies and infrastructure that enable the next generation of digital experiences. This may include immersive training and simulation, AI-powered video production and content workflows, generative AI tools for creators and brands, and enterprise platforms that make content creation, interaction and personalisation more scalable.
Our infrastructure thesis also extends to foundational technologies such as proprietary design, graphics, spatial computing, real-time rendering and AI infrastructure, where these technologies enable more sophisticated interactive experiences.
We look for businesses building proprietary technology, defensible IP and scalable enterprise solutions, particularly where they benefit from the growing demand for immersion, interactivity and personalisation.
Founders building B2B products, tools, infrastructure or enterprise platforms aligned with any of our five investment layers can reach us through the Contact page.
What is DOSE?
DOSE is Lumikai’s framework for judging whether a product or experience will hold attention. Every product competes for four neurochemicals: Dopamine (anticipation and reward), Oxytocin (connection and trust), Serotonin (status and progress) and Endorphins (flow). Products that trigger one become habits. Products that stack two or three become systems.
What stage does Lumikai invest in?
Pre-seed and seed. Pixels backs founders from day zero, whether that means an idea, a prototype or first users. Seed cheques follow for companies with early traction. Lumikai also makes follow-on investments in its portfolio companies as they grow.
How much does Lumikai invest?
Pixels invests up to $500K at day zero and up to $2M at seed. The final cheque depends on stage, traction and round structure.
Does Lumikai lead rounds or co-invest?
Yes. Lumikai can lead rounds, co-lead them or co-invest alongside other funds. Founders are free to bring their own co-investors.
Does Lumikai invest in follow-on rounds?
Yes. Lumikai participates in follow-on rounds across its portfolio.
What does Lumikai look for in founders?
Five things, known as the 5Cs.
Clarity: explaining what you’re building without hiding behind a buzzword.
Curiosity: knowing your user, market and competition better than the fund does.
Conviction: having heard every reason it won’t work and building it anyway.
Commitment: having already closed every other door.
Character: treating people well when nothing is at stake.
Do I need a warm intro?
No. Lumikai reads every submission but cannot reply to all of them. When there is a fit, the team reaches out to set up a call.
How do I pitch Lumikai?
Use the form on the Contact page. It asks for your name, company, a two-sentence description of what you’re building, your thesis area, stage, a deck or demo link and your email. Pre-seed founders can apply to Pixels directly.
What happens after I pitch?
A fit leads to a call with the team.
Can solo founders apply?
Yes. Lumikai backs solo founders as well as founding teams, and looks for the same 5Cs in every founder. Solo founders can pitch through the Contact page or apply to Pixels.
Does Lumikai invest outside India?
India is Lumikai’s primary focus, and the portfolio builds from India for India and the world. Lumikai also considers companies outside India that are building in interactive media, digital platforms and games. Founders can share the details through the Contact page.
What does Lumikai offer beyond capital?
Access to the Lumikai Leaders Circle, a tribe of experts and specialists across frontier tech, global platforms and original IP who have already solved the problems founders face. Founders also get a global investor and partner network, a community of portfolio founders and the research behind the State of India Interactive Media Report.
What is Pixels?
Pixels is Lumikai’s early-stage investment platform for founders building interactive media, digital platforms and games. It offers up to $500K at day zero, for founders with an idea, a prototype or first users.
What does Pixels cost?
Nothing. No fees. No equity for program access. Lumikai invests in every startup selected.
What support does Pixels include?
Five tracks built around early founder problems: Product and MVP, Technology and AI, Metrics, GTM and Fundraising. Partner mentors guide each one.
What is Pixels Pitch Day?
Pitch Day puts Pixels applicants in front of the Lumikai team and global partners, with closed-door founder sessions alongside the pitches. If you’re interested in participating in our Pixels program, fill out the form now.
How do I apply to Pixels?
Fill in the application form.
What is the State of India Interactive Media Report?
Lumikai’s annual research on India’s interactive media, digital platforms and games economy. Every edition combines proprietary consumer research, market sizing and category deep dives.
Is the report free?
Yes. Enter your email to download it.
How do I cite Lumikai’s data?
Attribute it to the Lumikai State of India Interactive Media Report, with the edition year. For interviews, comment or custom data cuts, write to events@lumikai.com.
What is Insignia?
Insignia is Lumikai’s invite-only annual summit and LP gathering. It brings together 100 of the most consequential people around the world and India shaping the interactive media economy, from founders, tech visionaries, global investors to industry experts and policymakers, for two days of conversation.
How can I attend Insignia?
Insignia is by invitation. Founders, investors and ecosystem leaders who would like to be considered can write to hello@lumikai.com.
What is Alpha Women?
Alpha Women is Lumikai’s business leadership podcast. It features unfiltered conversations with women shaping India’s most important industries, from venture capital and startups to media, law and pop culture. The name points to the guests: women who are at the forefront of their fields, undeniably Alpha.
Who hosts Alpha Women?
Salone Sehgal, Founder and Managing Partner of Lumikai. She brings an investor’s questions and an operator’s patience to every conversation.
Who is Alpha Women for?
Founders, operators, investors and the next generation of leaders who want the real story behind the résumé. It suits anyone building a career or a company and looking for the decisions, trade-offs and turning points that rarely make the press release.
Is Alpha Women only about venture capital?
No. Venture capital is one of many industries on the show. Guests come from startups, media, law, pop culture and beyond, so the conversations cover leadership at scale, not one sector.
Can I suggest a guest or collaborate on Alpha Women?
Yes. If you or someone you know fits the profile of an alpha women, feel free to write to us at Alphawomen@lumikai.com.
How can the press reach Lumikai?
Write to hello@lumikai.com for comment, interviews or data. The press kit has the boilerplate, logos and headshots.
How can an investor or LP get in touch?
Write to hello@lumikai.com.
Still have a question?
Write to hello@lumikai.com