What Helika does

Helika is a Montreal/Toronto-based private company that builds AI character infrastructure for IP owners across sports, entertainment, music, consumer brands, and gaming. The company was founded in 2022 as a Web3 gaming analytics platform and pivoted in 2024 toward interactive character AI, launching Helika Evolve in 2026 as its third-generation production platform. Helika's core technology is a model-agnostic AI character layer that fine-tunes and configures on top of leading foundation models, grounding each character in an approved brand knowledge base (studio lore, artist voice, franchise identity) and equipping it with conversational memory, real-world awareness, task execution, and a brand-safety control plane including Curated Mode, topic blacklists, kill switches, and full audit logs. Characters are deployed into Discord, Instagram DMs, X/Twitter, web, and custom channels with an 8-week contract-to-live timeline.

The company monetizes through an enterprise subscription model: engagements begin with a fixed-fee closed pilot covering setup, configuration, brand/legal sign-off, and 8-week deployment, after which ongoing annual pricing scales with deployment footprint (channels, character count, interaction volume) — explicitly not per-seat or per-fan licensing. Helika's go-to-market combines direct enterprise field sales with event-driven demand generation at industry conferences (Pocket Gamer Connects, GDC week) and co-marketed channel partnerships, most notably a flagship joint gaming accelerator with Avalanche. The company also operates the AI Publishing Engine (a modular system for game studios covering acquisition, content, community, and live operations) and maintains legacy Web3 gaming analytics capabilities. As of 2026, Helika serves 60+ studios including Nexon, Ubisoft, and Yuga Labs, with reported outcomes such as 3x prior-year engagement for franchise character deployments, 3,000+ weekly off-season interactions for a football club mascot, and 3x WAU improvement for a lead-character deployment.

Helika is venture-backed with approximately $15.5M raised across three rounds — a pre-seed in mid-2022, a $4M seed in March 2023 led by Diagram Ventures, and an $8M Series A in February 2024 led by Pantera Capital with participation from Sparkle Ventures and Sfermion. The investor base also includes Sagard, Animoca Brands, Sfermion, Big Brain Holdings, Fenbushi Capital, Builder Capital, and angel Marc Alloul. The leadership team is led by Founder & CEO Anton Umnov (15+ years in product and analytics), with CPO Ilya Abugov (ex-Sanctor Capital, DappRadar, Crypto Briefing), Head of Engineering Dr. Bohdan Rezanov (Doctor of Computer Engineering), and CBDO Max Kaufman. The company has 11–50 employees, operates in Canada, and uses a partnership-driven geographic expansion strategy that already covers North America, EMEA, and APAC.

Name

Helika

Legal name

Helika Corp

Website

https://helika.io

Company type

Private

Founded year

2022

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Helika builds AI character infrastructure for sports teams, entertainment studios, music artists, consumer brands, and game studios. Its Helika Evolve platform deploys brand-safe, memory-equipped AI characters across Discord and social channels in eight weeks, monetized via fixed-fee pilots and annual subscriptions.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

AI Character Platform / Conversational AI Infrastructure

NAICS

Software Publishers (5132)

SIC

Services-Computer Programming Services (7371)

akta.pro primary industry

AI Application Enablement Platforms (Copilot/Agent Frameworks, SDKs) (HDAEANAJ)

akta.pro secondary industries

Gaming & Interactive Entertainment Personalization (HDAAAGAF), Enterprise Foundation Model Integration & APIs (Connectors, Governance, Deployment) (HDAAACAO), Live-Service & MMO Game Studios (MPAFAAAD)

Keywords

• AI character platform
• Fan engagement infrastructure
• Conversational AI characters
• AI publishing engine
• Brand-safe AI personas

Headquarters

HQ city

Toronto

HQ country

Canada

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Operations

Revenue model

1. AI Character Platform Subscription: Engagements begin with a fixed-fee closed pilot covering setup, configuration, and the eight-week deployment. Ongoing pricing scales with deployment footprint including channels, character count, and interaction volume. No per-seat or per-fan licensing.
2. Professional Services: Initial deployment includes professional services for character setup, configuration, brand/legal sign-off, closed pilot, and full deployment with monitoring.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Helika operates an AI character infrastructure platform (branded Helika Evolve) that transforms brand mascots, game characters, sports personas, and entertainment IPs into interactive AI personas capable of real-time conversation, persistent memory, and personalized fan engagement across Discord, social networks, and custom channels. The company also offers the AI Publishing Engine, a modular system for game studios integrating acquisition, content, community, and live operations workflows. Deployments follow an 8-week closed pilot model from contract to live, with ongoing subscription pricing scaling by deployment footprint.

Product overview

Helika operates as an AI character infrastructure platform with two core offerings: Helika Evolve (their primary product) and the AI Publishing Engine (a modular system). Helika Evolve transforms brand mascots, game characters, sports personas, and entertainment IPs into interactive AI characters. The AI Publishing Engine provides game studios with professional-grade publishing infrastructure through modules including the Content Creation Engine, community management, user acquisition, and market analysis. The platform serves sports teams, entertainment studios, music artists, consumer brands, and game studios. Helika also maintains legacy Web3 gaming analytics capabilities including ARPU/ARPPU reporting for Telegram and Web3 gaming ecosystems.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Helika Evolve: AI character platform that transforms brand mascots into interactive AI personas capable of conversation, memory, and personalized fan engagement across websites, Discord, and social networks.
• AI Publishing Engine
• Content Module

Products and services

• Helika Evolve AI character platform that deploys brand-safe AI personas trained on each IP owner's approved content (lore, brand guidelines, artist voice) into Discord, social, and community channels. Characters sustain real-time, multi-turn conversations, remember returning fans across sessions, and operate within safety controls including Curated Mode review, topic blacklists, and a one-click kill switch.
• AI Publishing Engine Modular AI publishing platform for game studios that unifies user acquisition, content creation, community management, and live operations into one system. Powers AI characters built from studio lore documents and brand guidelines, enabling consistent voice across Discord, social channels, and in-game interactions.
• Web3 Gaming Analytics Legacy analytics platform for Web3 gaming studios covering player behavior, community growth, and blockchain-based gaming metrics including ARPU and ARPPU reporting.

Quantifiable outcome

• 3x prior year engagement for season-announcement using franchise character deployment
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration7 records

AI capability7 records

Feature9 records

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered flagship.

• AvalancheflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 27 November 2025Joint accelerator program launched November 2025 attracting over 100 applications for five spots. Each selected studio receives funding, mentorship, and Demo Day opportunity. Avalanche's embedded financial infrastructure enables game publishers to own in-game economies including cross-game loyalty currencies and real-time microtransaction settlement. Helika provides AI Publishing Engine capabilities.
• AvalancheflagshipGTM or Marketing PartnerJoint presence at Pocket Gamer Connects Summit San Francisco 2026 hosting Accelerator Demo Day to showcase 12-week program participants building, launching, and scaling games on Avalanche with funding and mentorship support.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Inworld AI: Inworld AI builds AI character engines for games, entertainment, and brand experiences with persistent memory and personality. It is the closest direct competitor to Helika Evolve in the AI character infrastructure category.
• Convai: Convai provides conversational AI NPCs and characters for games, virtual worlds, and metaverse applications. It directly competes with Helika in the AI character layer for game studios and virtual environments.
• Character.AI: Character.AI is a consumer-facing AI character platform with a large user base and an emerging enterprise offering. While consumer-first, its enterprise push into IP-driven characters overlaps with Helika's brand-safe character deployment positioning.
• Mod.ai (formerly Charisma.ai): Mod.ai powers interactive AI-driven storytelling and characters for entertainment and gaming. Its focus on narrative AI characters for studios and brands makes it a comparable peer to Helika's entertainment and music vertical.
• Replika: Replika is a widely deployed AI companion character platform. While primarily consumer-facing, its underlying character, memory, and personalization technology is comparable to Helika's conversational AI character stack.

Emerging players

• Quasi: Quasi provides AI tools for creators to build interactive content and characters. It overlaps with Helika on creator-led AI character use cases but is earlier-stage and more focused on individual creators than enterprise IP owners.

Broad incumbents

• NetEase: NetEase is a major global gaming publisher investing in AI-driven game operations and character experiences. As both a Helika customer segment (large publisher) and a potential in-house competitor, it is a relevant broad incumbent.
• Roblox: Roblox is a large creator and immersive gaming platform with growing AI character and NPC capabilities. As both a potential distribution channel and a competing platform for character-driven experiences, it is a relevant broad incumbent.

Others

• Microsoft (Xbox + Azure AI): Microsoft offers AI capabilities through Azure OpenAI and Xbox for game studios, making it a broad incumbent that could supply comparable character and conversational AI infrastructure to the same enterprise buyers Helika targets.

Regional players

• Polygon Labs: Polygon Labs provides Web3 gaming infrastructure analogous to Avalanche (Helika's flagship partner). It is a regional/ecosystem peer for Helika's Web3 gaming customer base, with overlapping game-studio relationships.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/Helika_AI
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/helika

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds3 records

Investors10 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Helika