Krutrim, Ola’s artificial intelligence (AI) startup led by Bhavish Aggarwal, has secured unicorn status in India after raising $50 million in funding.
The funding round, led by Matrix Partners India, values Krutrim at $1 billion. Aggarwal expressed excitement about Krutrim’s potential to drive meaningful AI solutions globally. The startup aims to build India’s first complete AI computing stack, with a focus on multilingual large language models. The funds will be utilized for global expansion, innovation, and reshaping the AI landscape.
Matrix Partners India Leads Funding Round
Matrix Partners India, known for its early backing of Aggarwal’s ventures like Ola Cabs and Ola Electric, led the funding round for Krutrim. Avnish Bajaj of Matrix Partners India highlighted Aggarwal’s track record in bringing tech innovation to India and expressed the privilege of deepening their partnership with Krutrim.
Krutrim’s AI Capabilities and Models
Krutrim’s AI models, trained on 2 trillion tokens of data, claim to understand 22 Indian languages and generate text in 10. The startup offers advanced AI models, including Krutrim Pro, a multimodal model capable of processing text, audio, image, and video. The company plans to develop its own silicon, design chips, and create indigenous data centers, with a production roadmap scheduled for the end of 2025.
Independent Operation within Ola Group
Krutrim will operate independently within the Ola Group and aims to integrate its technology across Ola’s companies by March 2024. The AI models will be available as an API for enterprises and developers, emphasizing an “India-first cost structure.” Krutrim is also developing a conversational AI assistant, set to be available in beta for consumers in February 2024, akin to OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Google’s Bard.