What they released was what I would call a prologue to companies. Its a collection of sidequests that tells the story of why companies are going to come to be and have to do with how the city states and the people who live in them are preparing for the coming of the companies. They are interesting and I enjoy doing them cause I like story, but if you're looking for amazing rewards and SP theres nothing to see here.
The actual companies are not in the least implemented yet. No NPCs or anything for them. I would imagine within the next patch or so they will be here though.