LocalHost raises $2.5 Mn from InVideo, RedBull India, and others

LocalHost, a launchpad for startups, has raised $2.5 million in an angel funding round from InVideo, RedBull India, Anthropic, and Eros International to expand its global founder labs and support early-stage startups.

The fresh funds will be used to expand infrastructure, strengthen hardware capabilities, scale operational teams across regions, and support additional early-stage founder cohorts globally, the company said in a press release.

Co-founded in 2023 by Kei Hayashi, Suhas Sumukh, and Hardeep Gambhir, LocalHost operates in-person labs designed as a launchpad for young technical and creative founders building at the intersection of media, software, and hardware.

In India, LocalHost runs a 50-day founder lab in Bengaluru, selecting 15 founders per cohort. Participants work on projects ranging from AI agents and robotics to India-native language models and multidisciplinary media products.

Beyond India, LocalHost operates labs in Tokyo and Cluj-Napoca, with expansion underway in San Francisco, alongside hardware-focused labs planned in Japan and France. The labs provide shared workspaces, access to hardware, operational support, and a community fund designed to remove small execution barriers.

Since launching its India lab, LocalHost claims to have hosted cohorts attended by over 30 venture partners and ecosystem participants. Startups emerging from the program include Maya Research, Prava Payments, Dawn Labs, Whisperwave, Markov, and Flashmates.