By buld_online 
Krutrim, India’s first AI unicorn, has launched Kruti, an agentic AI assistant that promises to go far beyond the capabilities of conventional chatbots. Positioned as one of the first of its kind in India, Kruti is designed to shift the paradigm from passive conversational interfaces to proactive task execution, capable of actions like booking cabs, ordering food, and even making payments on behalf of users.
The launch marks a significant upgrade from Krutrim’s initial public beta chatbot, introduced in 2023. With Kruti, the company brings a redesigned assistant experience built with enhanced reasoning capabilities and a focus on personalisation.
While India is home to a growing number of conversational AI platforms, Kruti differentiates itself by aiming to deliver true agentic functionality. However, the viability of such use cases, particularly in the absence of proven consumer traction, remains to be seen. The company is reportedly in talks with various ecosystem players to bring Kruti’s capabilities to life, but given the tepid market response to several other Indian LLM-based platforms so far, questions remain around monetisation and scale.
Speaking to Business Today at the launch, Bhavish Aggarwal, Co-founder and CEO of Ola Consumer, and founder of Ola Electric and Krutrim, reiterated the need for a robust AI ecosystem in India.
“India needs more AI companies—10, 20, the more the merrier,” said Aggarwal. “But at the end of the day, everyone has to solve their own traction problems. I can’t solve it for them.”
Aggarwal revealed that the company has already invested over ₹2,000 crore in Krutrim, with plans to infuse up to ₹10,000 crore by next year. The firm had previously raised $50 million in a funding round led by Matrix Partners India, an early backer of Aggarwal’s other ventures, Ola Cabs and Ola Electric.
On being asked whether Ola Krutrim is part of the government’s IndiaAI Mission, Aggarwal confirmed that the company has applied under the current batch.
As India’s AI race heats up, all eyes will now be on whether Kruti can deliver on its agentic promise—and whether users are ready to let an AI assistant act on their behalf.