Latest news with #Krutrim
Time of India
3 days ago
- Business
- Time of India
Intel, AMD former executives throw the hat into AI semiconductor ring
About a dozen executives from semiconductor and chip design companies such as Intel, AMD and Texas Instruments have quit to establish AI chip startups in India to tap into the multibillion-dollar industry. Four from Texas Instruments have started C2i Semiconductors, which is developing products to reduce energy consumption by semiconductors. They have raised $4 million from Yali Capital and Intel CEO Lip Bu-Tan, according to Tracxn. Bodhi Computing, which was acquired by Krutrim, was started by two Intel veterans, Sambit Sahu and Raghuraman Barathalwar. They are currently heading Krutrim's semiconductor initiatives, which ET had reported earlier. Four former Intel and AMD executives have set up Agrani Labs and are developing indigenous AI chips in Bengaluru. They are in talks to raise $8 million from Peak XV Partners, according to people familiar with the development. Most of these executives have spent 15-20 years in the semiconductor industry. India's semiconductor ecosystem is evolving rapidly through a combination of government initiatives such as design-linked incentives, experts said. Discover the stories of your interest Blockchain 5 Stories Cyber-safety 7 Stories Fintech 9 Stories E-comm 9 Stories ML 8 Stories Edtech 6 Stories Apart from this, the country is becoming a key centre for chip design and development and concentrated efforts are being made to set up semiconductor hubs. Global semiconductor sales are on track to reach $1 trillion by 2030 from $627 billion in 2024, according to a Deloitte report, driven by the demand for generative AI and other chips, including those for CPUs, GPUs, memory and power. In addition to this, semiconductor startups — even those that do not cater to the AI space — have seen investor interest in the past year. These include Mindgrove Technologies, InCore and Agnit Semiconductors. Agrani Labs is developing AI chips for the global market and is currently in stealth mode, according to people aware of the matter. Agrani Labs and Peak XV Partners didn't respond to queries. C2i Semiconductors, which is also in stealth mode, recently received the first part of funding from the government's design-linked incentive programme, the company announced on LinkedIn. Krutrim had earlier announced that the company is developing the Bodhi 1 chip, focused on advanced AI models, which is expected to hit the market in 2026. Bodhi 2, focused on training and inferencing, is scheduled for release by 2028. Also Read: Krutrim to launch first AI chip in 2026: Bhavish Aggarwal Others that have received funding recently include InCore, which raised $3 million from Peak XV. Mindgrove Technologies raised $8 million from Peak XV and others. Agnit Semiconductors has raised $4.87 million from 3one4 Capital and others. The Covid pandemic showed that India needed to develop its own supply chain, said Ganapathy Subramaniam, managing partner, Yali Capital, and former Texas Instruments executive. In the last few years, the government has drawn up several initiatives to develop the ecosystem. Over the past four decades, the country has produced chip designers for Texas Instruments, Intel and AMD, Subramaniam said. 'India is the second-largest centre for chip design for companies in the US, South Korea and Japan, creating a huge talent pool in the country,' he said. Challenges Scaling up semiconductors is still a challenge, said Tarun Pathak, research director, Counterpoint Research. 'India is still dependent on imports for many essential inputs, particularly from China, which holds cost and volume advantages due to its mature manufacturing and efficient supply chains,' he said. 'Matching the scale while keeping the costs down will be a challenge.' In addition, while government policies help, global original equipment manufacturers have established supply networks and the shift will take time, he said.
New Indian Express
21-05-2025
- New Indian Express
Tell everyone I died in an accident: Ola Krutrim engineer's last message before suicide
According to the India Today report, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Bengaluru South East) Sarah Fatima confirmed the sequence of events. 'The case was reported on May 7. A case of unnatural death has been registered, and our investigation is underway. We are awaiting the postmortem report." Though the incident took place two weeks ago, it drew widespread attention only recently after a Reddit post went viral, linking Somwanshi's death to an allegedly toxic work culture at Krutrim. The anonymous post described 'extreme work pressure,' verbal abuse, and mismanagement at the AI firm. The Reddit user claimed that Somwanshi, who joined Krutrim in August 2024 as a fresher, had been assigned a leadership role following the resignation of two colleagues. The post accused a US-based manager, identified as Rajkiran, of routinely abusing junior staff. 'Rajkiran had no idea how to manage people. He used to bash folks and then disappear,' the post read. It further alleged that even after the engineer's death, there was no introspection at the company, and employees were warned not to discuss the incident. The user described the internal work environment as 'pathetic.'
India Today
21-05-2025
- India Today
Tell everyone I died in accident, Ola Krutrim techie texted friend before suicide
Nikhil Somwanshi, a machine learning engineer at Ola's artificial intelligence division Krutrim, who allegedly died by suicide had messaged his friend to tell everyone that he had died in an body of the 24-year-old IT professional was found in Agara Lake, near his residence in HSR layout, on the morning of May completed his master's degree at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), where he earned a GPA of 9.30, according to sources. During his postgraduate studies, he reportedly worked on a chatbot project using large language models (LLM) and retrieval-augmented generation (RAG), funded by the Melinda Gates According to the police, Somwanshi, a native of Jalgaon in Maharashtra, left his shared accommodation on the evening of May 7 and sent a message to his roommate, asking him to inform his family that he had died in an accident. When the roommate failed to reach him on phone, he traced Somwanshi's live location through a linked device and rushed to the last-known spot, where he found a pair of slippers near the lake. The friend then immediately alerted the police by dialling to poor visibility after dark, emergency responders were unable to begin search operations that night. His body was recovered from the lake the following Commissioner of Police (DCP) for the Bengaluru South East, Sarah Fatima, confirmed this. 'The case was reported on May 7. A case of unnatural death has been registered, and our investigation is underway. We are awaiting the postmortem report.'advertisementThough he died two weeks ago, the death became a talking point after a user on Reddit linked Somwanshi's death to toxic work culture at his place of viral Reddit post alleged 'extreme work pressure' and verbal abuse at Krutrim. The post claimed that Somwanshi had been placed in a leadership role despite being a fresher and was burdened with extra responsibilities after two colleagues post also named Somwanshi's US-based manager, alleging that he frequently verbally abused employees, particularly junior staff. 'Rajkiran had no idea how to manage people. He used to bash folks and then disappear,' the post said, further claiming that no behavioural changes followed the engineer's death, and that employees were warned not to talk about it. The user described the company's internal situation as 'pathetic.'Somwanshi was an alumnus of the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) who joined Krutrim in August 2024. Since it became news, Ola faced massive backlash for 'toxic work culture' and extreme pressure. Reacting to the allegations, Ola Krutim said he was on personal leave at the time of the incident and had said he was company confirmed his death and issued a statement expressing its 'thoughts and heartfelt sympathies' to his family. However, the company did not address the work culture-related allegations in the a key part of Ola's AI ambitions, rose to prominence in early 2024 after raising USD 50 million in a funding round led by Matrix Partners India, attaining a USD 1 billion valuation and becoming the country's first AI unicorn.
Time of India
20-05-2025
- Automotive
- Time of India
Ola Electric plans fundraise amid market share slump, stock slide
Amid declining market share and falling stock price, electric two-wheeler maker Ola Electric is planning a fresh fundraise and has scheduled a board meeting on May 22 to consider raising capital through non-convertible debentures (NCDs) or other eligible securities. According to a stock exchange filing late on Monday, the fundraise could take place in one or more tranches, either via private placement or other permissible methods. This would mark the Bengaluru-based company's first funding exercise since its initial public offering (IPO) last year. However, other details such as the size of the round, valuation, and names of potential investors have not been disclosed by the Bhavish Aggarwal-led company. Ola Electric has come under increased regulatory scrutiny in recent months over issues such as sales discrepancies, vehicle quality concerns, and the absence of trade certificates at several retail locations—factors that have contributed to its shrinking market share. According to data from the government-run Vahan portal, Ola Electric lost its leadership position in the electric two-wheeler segment in April to TVS Motor . The company reported 19,709 vehicle registrations last month, down 42% year-on-year, resulting in a market share of 21.46%. The fundraise also comes as Aggarwal moves ahead with restructuring his group companies. As reported by ET on May 5, the intellectual property rights for the Ola brand—currently housed under ANI Technologies—are being shifted to a new holding entity controlled by his family office. The move has faced opposition from some ANI shareholders. Discover the stories of your interest Blockchain 5 Stories Cyber-safety 7 Stories Fintech 9 Stories E-comm 9 Stories ML 8 Stories Edtech 6 Stories In February, Ola Electric came under regulatory heat over inconsistencies in its reported sales figures. While Vahan data showed 8,652 vehicle registrations that month, the company reported sales of 25,000 units in regulatory filings. Ola attributed the gap to a temporary backlog caused by contract renegotiations with registration service providers Rosmerta and Shimnit India. Nevertheless, the discrepancy triggered inquiries from the Ministry of Heavy Industries and the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways. In a latest development, Ola's artificial intelligence (AI) arm, Krutrim , has faced backlash on social media following reports of the death of Nikhil Somwanshi, an employee who had joined the firm in August last year. Ola later said in a statement that Somwanshi was on personal leave at the time of the incident. In the October-December quarter, Ola Electric's net loss widened 50% YoY to Rs 564 crore, while operating revenue fell 19%. The company has yet to disclose its financial results for the fourth quarter of FY25. Shares of Ola Electric closed trading at Rs 51.12 on the BSE on Tuesday, down 2.74% from the last close.
The Hindu
20-05-2025
- Business
- The Hindu
Ola Krutrim says it is extending full support to family of employee who died
Ola's AI arm Krutrim on Sunday said it is extending full support to the family of an employee who allegedly ended his life earlier this month, and the company is in contact with authorities to offer assistance as needed. When reached for comments, a statement by a Krutrim spokesperson noted: "We are deeply saddened by the tragic passing of one of our most talented young employees, Nikhil (Somwanshi), on the 8th of May. Our thoughts and heartfelt sympathies are with his family, friends, and loved ones during this incredibly difficult time." The spokesperson further said, "We are extending our full support to Nikhil's family and our employees during this time of grief. We are also in contact with the relevant authorities and will continue to offer our assistance as needed." Krutrim said Mr. Somwanshi was "on personal leave at the time of the incident". As a company, the statement added, "We are heartbroken by this loss. Nikhil was a valued team member, and his absence will be deeply felt by all who knew and worked with him." An unverified Reddit post, titled 'Suicide due to work pressure at the OLA, the worst place to work,' sparked questions on social media about the treatment of employees in the Indian tech sector. The post was later deleted, however. The investigation is ongoing. Those in distress or struggling with their mental health can find assistance through these helplines.
