India’s Biggest AI Startups: Pioneers in Innovation and Investment

While India may be far from the tech epicenter of San Francisco, it boasts a treasure trove of engineering talent. Many of these skilled professionals are venturing into the world of AI startups, becoming founders and builders of cutting-edge technology companies.

A Budding AI Ecosystem

India’s AI startup landscape mirrors the early days of SaaS in the country: funding is limited, especially compared to the billions flowing into AI startups in the U.S. and Europe. However, signs of growth are evident, particularly in generative AI. Venture capital is increasingly being channeled to home-grown talent solving region-specific problems and bringing fresh approaches to challenges also faced by their Western counterparts.

Several Indian startups are integrating local language support into their AI models to meet the growing demand from Indian consumers. Others, like Pepper Content and Pocket FM, are leveraging AI to create use cases for international markets, including the U.S.

Funding Challenges and Opportunities

Despite these advancements, securing funding in India remains challenging. In 2023, AI startup funding dropped nearly 80% to $113.4 million from $554.7 million in 2022, according to Tracxn data shared with TechCrunch. In stark contrast, U.S. AI startup funding soared by 211% to $16.2 billion last year from $5.2 billion in 2022, with total investments reaching $13 billion. During the same period, Indian AI startups received just $92 million in investments.

Dev Khare, a partner at Lightspeed Venture Partners India, sees significant opportunities for AI in consumer applications, such as content creation in Indic languages, virtual influencers, and AI-generated short videos and games. He notes that while SaaS companies have succeeded by replicating established markets at lower costs, AI requires a more visionary approach, betting on future market needs.

Lightspeed India and SEA have invested over $150 million in AI in the past 18 months, including new investments and follow-ons. Globally, the fund has invested more than $1 billion across over 70 AI companies in the same period.

The Role of Global and Local Investors

Global and local investors are actively scouting for AI startups in India to diversify their portfolios amid ongoing geopolitical conflicts in key markets. Data sovereignty concerns also drive interest in local startups offering innovative solutions for the world’s most populous country.

Top Funded Indian AI Startups

Krutrim

• Founder: Bhavish Aggarwal
• Total Funding: $50 million
• Key Investors: Matrix Partners India

Krutrim, led by Ola founder Bhavish Aggarwal, is India’s first unicorn AI startup, valued at $1 billion. Launched in December 2023 in Bengaluru, Krutrim focuses on developing a large language model (LLM) based on Indian languages and English. Despite initial backlash over its AI chatbot’s inaccurate results, the startup continues to improve its model through regular updates.

Sarvam AI

• Founders: Vivek Raghavan and Pratyush Kumar
• Total Funding: $41 million
• Key Investors: Lightspeed Venture Partners, Peak XV Partners, Khosla Ventures

Sarvam AI, co-founded by Vivek Raghavan and Pratyush Kumar, emerged from stealth in December 2023. It offers full-stack generative AI solutions, including a platform for enterprises to develop GenAI apps based on Sarvam’s LLM. In February, the startup partnered with Microsoft to launch voice-based AI tools and bring its Indic voice LLM to Azure.

Mad Street Den

• Founders: Ashwini Asokan and Anand Chandrasekaran
• Total Funding: $67 million
• Key Investors: Avatar Growth Capital, Peak XV Partners, Alpha Wave Global

Mad Street Den, co-founded by Ashwini Asokan and Anand Chandrasekaran, provides AI solutions for enterprise customers. The Chennai-based startup initially targeted the retail segment but has since expanded to finance, insurance, healthcare, and logistics. Its mission is to make people worldwide AI natives.

Wysa

• Founders: Jo Aggarwal and Ramakant Vempati
• Total Funding: $25 million
• Key Investors: HealthQuad, W Health, British International Investment, Google Assistant Fund

Wysa offers an “emotionally intelligent” therapist chatbot to help users manage their mental health. The chatbot, supported by Wysa’s mental health professionals, is used by over 6.5 million people across more than 95 countries. The Bengaluru-based startup, which also operates in Boston and London, was founded by Jo Aggarwal and Ramakant Vempati in 2016.

Neysa Networks

• Founders: Sharad Sanghi and Anindya Das
• Total Funding: $20 million
• Key Investors: Matrix Partners India, Nexus Venture Partners, NTTVC

Mumbai-based Neysa Networks, led by Sharad Sanghi and Anindya Das, offers generative AI platforms and services for businesses. Its Nebula platform scales AI projects with on-demand GPU infrastructure, while Palvera and Aegis platforms provide observability and AI/ML security, respectively.

Emerging AI Startups to Watch

Upliance AI

• Founders: Mahek Mody and Mohit Sharma
• Total Funding: $5.5 million
• Key Investors: Khosla Ventures, Draper Associates

Upliance AI is revolutionizing home cooking with AI-powered appliances that enable users to cook over 500 new dishes. The Bengaluru-based startup plans to raise $10 million to $15 million to expand its market presence.

Scribble Data

• Founders: Venkata Pingali and Indrayudh Ghoshal
• Total Funding: $2.3 million
• Key Investor: Blume Ventures

Scribble Data provides domain-specific AI assistants for large North American and European insurers, helping them scale back-end business operations. Headquartered in Bengaluru, the startup also has a sales team in Toronto.

Expertia AI

• Founders: Kanishk Shukla and Akshay Gugnani
• Total Funding: $1.3 million
• Key Investors: Chiratae Ventures, Endiya Partners, Entrepreneur First

Expertia AI automates recruitment processes for businesses, reducing hiring times to 24 hours. The Bengaluru-based startup uses proprietary deep-learning algorithms for sourcing, screening, and scheduling. It is currently raising $3 million from lead investors and existing supporters.

OnFinance

• Founders: Anuj Srivastava and Priyesh Srivastava
• Total Funding: $1.1 million
• Key Investors: Silverneedle Ventures, Indian Angel Network, LetsVenture

OnFinance provides AI co-pilots for banks and wealth management companies, assisting with tasks from equity research to compliance and wealth advisory.

Helium

• Founders: Shray Arora and Sidharth Sahni
• Total Funding: $550,000
• Key Investor: Merak Ventures

Helium helps e-commerce brands build direct-to-consumer web stores with AI-powered reactive headless storefronts.

Soket Labs

• Founder: Abhishek Upperwal
• Total Funding: $140,000

Soket Labs, based in Bengaluru and Gurugram, developed the Pragna-1B multilingual LLM through its in-house GenAI Studio. The startup plans to raise $7 million in a seed round soon.

Kissan AI

• Founder: Pratik Desai

Kissan AI, based in Surat and the Bay Area, provides AI solutions for agriculture through its AgriCopilot platform and domain-specific Agri LLMs. The startup is currently bootstrapped but plans to raise $3 million to $4 million soon.

Shorthills AI

• Founders: Pawan Prabhat and Paramdeep Singh

Shorthills AI, based in Gurugram, develops custom AI tools for enterprises and has secured NHS and PwC as early customers. The startup, founded in June 2018, is bootstrapped and led by the team behind EduPristine.

India’s AI startup ecosystem is brimming with potential, driven by innovative solutions tailored to local and global markets. Despite funding challenges, these startups are poised to make significant strides in the AI landscape, showcasing the ingenuity and resilience of Indian tech entrepreneurs.