AI Startup Krutrim Rolls out India’s First Multilingual Large Language Model

Krutrim, an artificial intelligence startup founded by serial entrepreneur and CEO of Ola Group, Bhavish Aggarwal, made waves in the field of AI with the launch of India’s first multilingual large language model (LLM).

The LLM can generate text in 10 Indian languages, Bloomberg reported Friday (Dec. 15).

In addition to language generation, Krutrim is also focused on developing data centers, supercomputers and chips to support the growing AI ecosystem in India, according to the report.

Among the key features that set Krutrim’s LLM apart are its voice-enabled functionality and its ability to understand multiple languages, including the mix of Hindi and English known as Hinglish, the report said.

Aggarwal described the LLM as “uniquely Indian,” highlighting its ability to cater to the diverse linguistic landscape of India, per the report.

With its population of 1.4 billion people, India is working toward building its own AI systems to reduce reliance on technology from the United States or China, according to the report.

The launch of OpenAI’s ChatGPT a year ago sparked a race among Indian startups and academic groups to develop LLMs in Indian languages, known as Indic LLMs, the report said.

Krutrim’s entry into the space marks a milestone in India’s pursuit of building smaller, more cost-efficient AI systems that align with the country’s culture, language and ethos, Aggarwal said, per the report.

Looking ahead, the startup plans to release a beta version of its chatbot in January, followed by prototypes of servers in mid-2024, the report said. Production of these servers is expected to commence by the end of 2025.

Additionally, Krutrim intends to launch an enterprise model called Krutrim Pro in the next quarter, catering to the needs of businesses and organizations, the report said.

PYMNTS Intelligence found that the rise of LLMs like ChatGPT has prompted brands across industry subsets to reassess their strategies.

For example, retailers are leveraging AI to help rework operations from customer service to inventory management, according to “What Generative AI Has in Store for the Retail Industry,” a PYMNTS and AI-ID collaboration.

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