Krutrim, an AI startup co-founded by Ola’s Bhavish Aggarwal, has reached a significant milestone, securing a valuation of $1 billion.
This achievement, announced in a recent press statement, makes Krutrim not only the quickest company in India to attain unicorn status but also the first Indian AI startup to do so.
The $50 million funding round, led by Matrix Partners India, has been pivotal in Krutrim’s rapid growth. Matrix Partners India is known for its previous investments in Aggarwal’s other ventures, including the ride-hailing service Ola and the electric vehicle startup Ola Electric. This funding marks a key moment in Krutrim’s journey, initially reported by TechCrunch as part of Aggarwal’s plans for a new AI venture.
Avnish Bajaj, Founder, and MD, of Matrix Partners India said “Bhavish has consistently brought cutting-edge tech innovation to India at scale with Ola and Ola Electric—and now excitingly with Krutrim—to power the journey of ‘Viksit Bharat’ digitally. We are incredibly privileged to deepen our partnership with Bhavish and Krutrim.”.
Krutrim, which translates to “artificial” in Sanskrit, focuses on developing a large language model proficient in local Indian languages as well as English. The startup’s ambitious project includes launching a voice-enabled AI assistant capable of understanding and conversing in multiple Indian languages.
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With plans to release a beta version of its chatbot next month, Krutrim is not stopping there. The company aims to provide APIs to developers and enterprises, signaling a broader application of its technology. Additionally, Krutrim is exploring the development of AI-optimized chips, a move reported earlier by TechCrunch.
As Aggarwal’s third venture, following the success of Ola and Ola Electric, Krutrim represents his commitment to advancing AI technology in India. Aggarwal emphasizes the need for India to establish its own AI ecosystem and expresses confidence in Krutrim’s potential to make a global impact.
This investment in Krutrim comes amid a global surge in funding AI breakthroughs, with investors betting on AI’s transformative potential across industries. Despite India’s vibrant startup environment, it has been relatively quiet in the AI race, with local startups yet to challenge global giants like OpenAI’s ChatGPT or Google’s Bard. However, with ventures like Krutrim and others gaining traction, India is poised to make a significant mark in the AI arena.
Training large language models like those of OpenAI or Anthropic involves substantial financial resources. OpenAI has raised over $11 billion to date, with other AI startups also securing significant funding. Krutrim’s successful funding round positions it among these high-profile AI ventures, signaling a promising future for AI development in India.
