Founded: 2023
Founder: Bhavish Aggarwal (Founder & CEO of Ola & Ola Electric)
Headquarters: Bengaluru, India
Funding: $50 million in seed funding; became India’s first AI unicorn in 2024
Overview:
Krutrim (meaning “artificial” in Sanskrit) is a groundbreaking AI startup founded by Bhavish Aggarwal, aiming to create a complete, India-centric AI stack. From developing large language models (LLMs) to custom AI hardware, Krutrim is India’s boldest bet yet on achieving AI independence and becoming a global AI powerhouse.
Mission:
To empower India with indigenous AI technologies by building a sovereign AI ecosystem rooted in the nation’s linguistic and cultural diversity.
What Krutrim Does:
- Develops proprietary LLMs trained on Indian languages and cultural data
- Designs AI models capable of multimodal interaction (text, voice, code)
- Working toward creating AI chips and cloud infrastructure optimized for India
- Builds APIs and AI services for enterprise, governance, and consumer use cases
Key Focus Areas:
- Generative AI and Natural Language Processing
- Indian language models (Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Marathi, and more)
- AI hardware R&D (future roadmap)
- Voice and multimodal interfaces
- Open-source and enterprise-ready AI platforms
Use Cases:
- Chatbots and voice assistants in regional languages
- AI tools for developers and startups via API access
- Smart assistants for electric vehicles and consumer apps
- Government and public sector digitization
- Education and skilling via AI tutors in local languages
Why Krutrim Stands Out:
- First Indian AI startup to achieve unicorn status at seed stage
- Focused on building India-first AI models rather than repurposing Western LLMs
- Visionary leadership by Bhavish Aggarwal, who also scaled Ola into a household name
- Part of India’s emerging strategy for technological sovereignty in AI
