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LocalHost, a globally operating founder launchpad, has successfully closed a $2.5 million angel funding round with participation from InVideo, RedBull India, Anthropic, and Eros International. The fresh capital will be directed toward expanding infrastructure, strengthening hardware capabilities, scaling operational teams across regions, and supporting additional early stage founder cohorts worldwide. Notably, prior to this round, the organisation had already invested $1.2 million across 15 startups, reflecting its hands on, capital first approach to founder support.
The Founders Behind the Mission
LocalHost was founded by Kei Hayashi from Tokyo, Suhas Sumukh from Bengaluru, and Canada based Hardeep Gambhir. Each brings a remarkable background to the organisation. Sumukh sold his first company at 15, Hayashi raised $1 million for global tech events before turning 20, and Gambhir was previously part of a Sam Altman backed startup. Together, they have built LocalHost around a shared conviction that determined young founders, given the right environment and resources, can compete at the highest levels of global innovation.
Inside the Bengaluru Lab
LocalHost hosts its India house in HSR Layout, Bengaluru – a structured yet dynamic ecosystem focused on real building over performative success. The programme offers founders free housing and meals, access to hardware labs, computing credits, and flights for essential travel, with the idea of giving determined founders as little to worry about as possible so they can focus entirely on their work. The 50 day cohort selects 15 founders per cycle, working on projects spanning artificial intelligence agents, robotics, India native language models, and multidisciplinary media products.
A Portfolio of Emerging Ventures
Startups that have graduated from the programme include Maya Research, Prava Payments, Dawn Labs, Whisperwave, Markov, and Flashmates. Since launching its India lab, LocalHost has hosted cohorts attended by over 30 venture partners and ecosystem participants – a strong signal of the platform’s growing credibility within the startup ecosystem.
Expansion Plans and the Road Ahead
Beyond India, LocalHost operates international houses in Romania, Japan, and France, with a new lab actively being established in San Francisco. Co-founder Kei Hayashi has noted that travel is one of the biggest blockers for young founders, which is precisely why the organisation’s community fund and operational support model are designed to eliminate such barriers entirely. With fresh capital secured and an expanding global footprint, LocalHost is positioning itself as one of the most consequential early stage founder platforms of its generation.
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