NeoSapien raises $2 million seed funding to scale India’s first AI-native wearable

Merak-neosapien

NeoSapien, the Bengaluru-based startup building India’s first AI-native wearable device, has secured $2 million (Rs 18 crore) in a seed funding round led by Merak Ventures, with participation from several notable angel investors. The company plans to use the fresh capital to accelerate product development, boost market visibility, and expand hiring across key functions.

NeoSapien’s primary product, Neo 1, is positioned as a Personal AI personal assistant (PAIA), a new category of ambient intelligence devices designed to operate as always-on companions. Unlike conventional AI tools, PAIAs can build persistent memory, reason over long periods, and proactively surface insights without requiring continuous engagement from the user.

Neo 1 works across more than 100 languages, including Kannada and Mandarin, and uses contextual intelligence supported by hardware innovation. It enables users to capture, process, and organise conversations and daily actions in real time. The founders describe it as a technology that blends into a user’s routine, helping reduce the cognitive burden of recalling conversations, tracking commitments, and managing information over long periods.

Founded in 2024 by Dhananjay Yadav and Aryan Yadav, NeoSapien began with Neo 1 as its consumer offering but ultimately aims to create the operating system layer for a wide range of AI-powered devices, including glasses, pendants, watches, and rings. Its NeoCore SDK will allow businesses to build applications on top of this intelligence stack.

Merak Ventures believes the company is positioned to lead India’s participation in the global shift toward personal AI devices. According to the fund, NeoSapien’s OS has potential to power hundreds of millions of AI wearables in India and international markets.

The round saw participation from Awais Ahmed (Pixxel), Anupam Mittal (Shaadi.com), Sameer Mehta (boAt), Namita Thapar (Emcure Pharmaceuticals), and Aprameya Radhakrishna (Koo), among others. NeoSapien continues to focus on building privacy-first “second brain” technology through its proprietary OS, aiming to redefine how users think, work, and live in the AI era.