Ola Founder Bhavish Aggarwal’s Krutrim AI Becomes India’s 1st AI Unicorn

Krutrim AI, an Indian artificial intelligence startup, has achieved a significant milestone by becoming the country’s first AI unicorn—a company valued at over $1 billion.

This achievement was marked by a recent funding round where Krutrim AI raised $50 million. The round was led by well-known investors, including Matrix Partners India. 

This funding has put Krutrim AI in the spotlight as the first Indian unicorn of 2024 and the third-fastest startup in India to reach this status.

The company was founded by Bhavish Aggarwal, who is also the founder of Ola. With Krutrim AI, Aggarwal is focusing on developing advanced AI solutions. 

The startup was established in April last year and has made significant progress in a short time. Krutrim AI’s journey to becoming a unicorn is remarkable, considering it was only incorporated last year.

Krutrim AI specializes in large language models (LLMs) and offers a range of products including Krutrim base and Krutrim Pro. These models are designed to understand and generate text in multiple Indian languages, which is a significant step forward in AI technology. 

The company claims that its AI models, trained on a vast amount of data, can understand over 20 Indian languages and generate text in 10 languages like Bengali, Tamil, and Gujarati.

The name ‘Krutrim’ is derived from the Sanskrit language, meaning ‘artificial’. This reflects the company’s focus on artificial intelligence. The firm’s AI models have shown impressive performance on various global benchmarks, showcasing their technical capabilities.

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Apart from Aggarwal, the company’s leadership includes Tenneti Venugopala Krishnamurthy, a long-time board member of Ola’s parent company. 

The startup’s journey began with a $24 million debt funding from Matrix Partners in October 2023, and it has continued to attract investment and attention in the AI field.
India’s AI market is growing rapidly. According to an Inc42 report, the market is expected to expand significantly, reaching over $17 billion by 2030. This growth represents a huge opportunity for companies like Krutrim AI and positions India as a key player in the global AI industry.