In a move set to redefine the boundaries of Indian cinema, TakeTwo, an AI-native film studio specializing in high-end visual storytelling, has announced a fresh capital infusion at a ₹100 crore valuation.

The pre-seed round features participation from Afore Capital, the world’s largest pre-seed venture firm based in the US, and Canada’s Inovia VC. This investment signals a major shift in how visual effects (VFX) and world-building will be executed in the world’s most prolific film industry.

From a Shared Room to the Big Screen

Founded by Rudresh Upadhyaya (CEO) and Raghav Katta (CTO), TakeTwo was born out of a shared room during Y Combinator’s AI Startup School. The duo, combining deep startup experience with a passion for cinema, sought to solve the “VFX bottleneck”—the skyrocketing costs and grueling timelines that often limit a director’s vision.

Unlike standard AI software companies, TakeTwo operates as a full-stack studio. It functions as a critical technology partner for directors and production houses, executing complex VFX-heavy sequences, stylized inserts, and surreal environments at a fraction of traditional costs.

“Our objective is to bridge the gap between cutting-edge AI research and the rigorous demands of professional cinema,” said Rudresh Upadhyaya. “This valuation is a testament to the immediate value we are providing to filmmakers who need to scale their visual ambitions without the constraints of traditional timelines.”

Capturing a Multi-Billion Dollar Opportunity

TakeTwo’s arrival coincides with a massive growth spurt in the Indian media and entertainment sector, projected to reach $48 billion by 2030. Locally, the animation and VFX segment alone is expected to touch $2.2 billion by late 2026.

The TakeTwo Edge:

• B2B & B2C Access: The studio serves both massive production houses and independent filmmakers, democratizing high-end technology.

• Workflow Integration: Outputs are designed to flow seamlessly into standard color grading and editing pipelines.

• Data Advantage: Leveraging the sheer scale and complexity of the Indian film industry as a data “treasure trove” to train custom AI agents.

• Beyond SaaS: The founders emphasize that TakeTwo offers “deep creative understanding” rather than just a peripheral AI tool.

[Image: A comparison shot showing a raw live-action plate transformed into a high-fidelity surreal environment using TakeTwo’s AI-native pipeline]

The Roadmap: Infrastructure for the Next Generation

The capital will be used to further develop TakeTwo’s technical infrastructure and scale its team of “creative technologists.” While the company currently utilizes advanced APIs, the founders plan to deploy proprietary AI agents tailored specifically for the nuances of Indian cinematography.

Currently, TakeTwo is already collaborating with several leading Indian directors, embedding its AI-enabled pipelines into mainstream cinematic productions to create high-fidelity visual IP with reduced overhead.

By: Vanshika Tayal