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Krutrim layoffs continue as Ola-backed AI startup looks to build ‘leaner' teams
Krutrim layoffs continue as Ola-backed AI startup looks to build ‘leaner' teams

Indian Express

time2 days ago

  • Business
  • Indian Express

Krutrim layoffs continue as Ola-backed AI startup looks to build ‘leaner' teams

Ola founder Bhavish Aggarwal's AI venture, Krutrim, has reportedly laid off several employees in the company's linguistics department in its second round of job cuts this year. More than 100 employees have been impacted by the layoffs after being hired six months ago as part of Krutrim's strategy to make its workforce leaner, according to a report by Economic Times. 'As part of a strategic realignment and our commitment to efficient capital deployment, we are building leaner, more agile teams. This transition aligns with evolving business priorities and reflects our long-term vision to build India's own full-stack AI platform,' a Krutrim spokesperson told The Indian Express in a statement. The AI startup did not confirm exact figures on how many job roles have been cut in this round of layoffs. 'We urge you to refrain from publishing unverified reports that are not substantiated by accurate facts,' it added. Krutrim reportedly hired linguists for full-time roles to train its AI models and evaluate its responses in at least 10 Indian languages, including Tamil, Odia, Telugu, and Marathi. The company's linguistics team comprised over 600 people, as per the report. In June this year, Krutrim reportedly axed dozens of linguist roles after the introduction of its agentic AI app called Kruti. which is capable of autonomously booking cabs and ordering food on the Ola platform. It also has plans to enable ride bookings and food delivery orders on rival platforms such as Uber, Zomato, Swiggy, etc, through the AI agent. Earlier this year, Krutrim released a handful of new 'open-source' AI models with the aim of making India have a stronger presence in the AI race which is currently dominated by the US and China. Aggarwal, the founder and CEO of the company, had announced a $230-million injection of funds into Krutrim and said he was seeking an additional investment of $1.15 billion by 2026. He also announced Krutrim AI Labs to carry out frontier AI research with a focus on 'developing India's first frontier-scale AI models, creating state-of-the-art multimodal AI systems, and publishing breakthrough research in top-tier AI conferences like NeurIPS, ICML, ACL, Interspeech, and CVPR,' as per the official website. In May this year, a machine learning engineer at Krutrim was found dead in Bengaluru. Allegations cropped up on social media suggesting that the 25-year-old died by suicide due to 'work pressure'. However, the company responded to the social media posts, saying that the employee, Nikhil Somwanshi, was 'on personal leave at the time of the incident.'

Ola's AI venture Krutrim lays off over 100, axes Kruti's linguistics team
Ola's AI venture Krutrim lays off over 100, axes Kruti's linguistics team

Business Standard

time2 days ago

  • Business
  • Business Standard

Ola's AI venture Krutrim lays off over 100, axes Kruti's linguistics team

Bhavish Aggarwal's artificial intelligence (AI) startup Krutrim has initiated a second wave of layoffs, just weeks after launching its flagship assistant Kruti. According to a report by The Economic Times, more than 100 employees, primarily from the linguistics division, were let go last week, following a smaller round of job cuts in June. The downsizing comes even as Krutrim positions Kruti as India's answer to OpenAI's ChatGPT and Google's Gemini, with ambitions rooted in localisation, multilingual capabilities, and voice-first interactivity tailored to the Indian market. Kruti's language training nears completion In a statement, Krutrim said the layoffs are part of a 'strategic realignment' to build 'leaner, more agile teams", aligning with evolving business priorities. The company declined to confirm exact figures but cautioned against 'publishing unverified reports.' Citing multiple sources, The Economic Times reported that the cuts heavily impacted linguists hired for full-time roles across 10 Indian languages, including Tamil, Odia, Telugu, and Marathi. Many employees had relocated to Bengaluru just months ago. The linguistics team had reportedly grown to around 600 people before the reductions. The linguistic hires were deemed unnecessary as the AI assistant's training is almost complete. The report also cited delayed fundraising and lack of product traction as key reasons behind the restructuring. Krutrim had become a unicorn in 2024 after raising $50 million from Z47 Partners. Around the same time, it launched Krutrim AI Labs and announced a ₹2,000 crore investment into AI development, with founder Bhavish Aggarwal pledging to scale this up to ₹10,000 crore by next year. While Krutrim had initially aimed to raise $500 million, the target was reduced to $300 million due to tepid investor interest. The company's large language model and cloud services, launched in 2024, have reportedly struggled to gain momentum, with several startups opting instead for more mature platforms offered by global hyperscalers. Leadership changes have also added to challenges as nearly a dozen senior executives exited the company in 2024, with further departures taking place in early 2025. Kruti: India's first agentic AI assistant Despite the operational shakeup, Krutrim continues to claim Kruti as India's first agentic AI assistant —designed not just to respond to prompts, but to perform tasks such as booking cabs, paying bills, or ordering food. It currently supports 13 Indian languages. 'Our key differentiator will come with integrating local services,' said Sunit Singh, Senior Vice-President for Product at Krutrim, as earlier reported by Business Standard. 'That's not something that will be very easy for global players to do.' Krutrim aims to embed Kruti into everyday Indian digital life by offering voice-driven services that cater to regional and non-English-speaking populations. While Kruti is powered by Krutrim's proprietary Krutrim V2 model, the company employs a hybrid architecture that includes open-source systems and external models. Krutrim competes with global players like OpenAI, Google, and Anthropic, as well as Indian startups such as Sarvam AI and

Bhavish Aggarwal's Krutrim lays off over 100 employees in fresh job cuts: Report
Bhavish Aggarwal's Krutrim lays off over 100 employees in fresh job cuts: Report

India Today

time2 days ago

  • Business
  • India Today

Bhavish Aggarwal's Krutrim lays off over 100 employees in fresh job cuts: Report

Krutrim, the artificial intelligence company founded by Ola's Bhavish Aggarwal, has reportedly laid off more than 100 employees in a second round of job cuts, reported The Economic layoffs affected a large part of the firm's linguistics team, which had only recently joined the decision comes just weeks after Krutrim's first round of layoffs in June, when over a dozen roles were cut. People familiar with the matter told The Economic Times that the latest layoffs were part of a 'strategic realignment' and an attempt to build leaner teams to manage resources recent round of layoffs began shortly after the launch of the company's AI assistant, Kruti, in of the people cited in the report said, 'Almost 80% of the training has been done for the AI assistant Kruti and they don't need as many people as they did before.' This suggests that the company's need for linguistics staff has reduced as the product nears completion in its early had previously announced large investments in building its AI capabilities. Earlier this year, Bhavish Aggarwal launched Krutrim AI Labs, committing Rs 2,000 crore to AI development with plans to increase this figure to Rs 10,000 crore next company also raised $50 million from venture capital firm Z47 Partners, achieving unicorn status in layoffs are being seen as a shift in focus from team expansion to efficient deployment of capital, especially at a time when many tech firms across the world are tightening budgets and resizing the AI sector remains one of the most talked-about areas of growth, several startups and large companies alike are facing the challenge of managing costs while trying to scale quickly.- Ends advertisement

Ola's AI venture Krutrim lays off over 100, axes Kruri's linguistics team
Ola's AI venture Krutrim lays off over 100, axes Kruri's linguistics team

Business Standard

time2 days ago

  • Business
  • Business Standard

Ola's AI venture Krutrim lays off over 100, axes Kruri's linguistics team

Bhavish Aggarwal's artificial intelligence (AI) startup Krutrim has initiated a second wave of layoffs, just weeks after launching its flagship assistant Kruti. According to a report by The Economic Times, more than 100 employees, primarily from the linguistics division, were let go last week, following a smaller round of job cuts in June. The downsizing comes even as Krutrim positions Kruti as India's answer to OpenAI's ChatGPT and Google's Gemini, with ambitions rooted in localisation, multilingual capabilities, and voice-first interactivity tailored to the Indian market. Kruti's language training nears completion In a statement, Krutrim said the layoffs are part of a 'strategic realignment' to build 'leaner, more agile teams", aligning with evolving business priorities. The company declined to confirm exact figures but cautioned against 'publishing unverified reports.' Citing multiple sources, The Economic Times reported that the cuts heavily impacted linguists hired for full-time roles across 10 Indian languages, including Tamil, Odia, Telugu, and Marathi. Many employees had relocated to Bengaluru just months ago. The linguistics team had reportedly grown to around 600 people before the reductions. Krutrim cuts funding target amid tepid investor interest Krutrim had become a unicorn in 2024 after raising $50 million from Z47 Partners. Around the same time, it launched Krutrim AI Labs and announced a ₹2,000 crore investment into AI development, with founder Bhavish Aggarwal pledging to scale this up to ₹10,000 crore by next year. While Krutrim had initially aimed to raise $500 million, the target was reduced to $300 million due to tepid investor interest. The company's large language model and cloud services, launched in 2024, have reportedly struggled to gain momentum, with several startups opting instead for more mature platforms offered by global hyperscalers. Leadership changes have also added to challenges as nearly a dozen senior executives exited the company in 2024, with further departures taking place in early 2025. Kruti: India's first agentic AI assistant Despite the operational shakeup, Krutrim continues to claim Kruti as India's first agentic AI assistant —designed not just to respond to prompts, but to perform tasks such as booking cabs, paying bills, or ordering food. It currently supports 13 Indian languages. 'Our key differentiator will come with integrating local services,' said Sunit Singh, Senior Vice-President for Product at Krutrim, as earlier reported by Business Standard. 'That's not something that will be very easy for global players to do.' Krutrim aims to embed Kruti into everyday Indian digital life by offering voice-driven services that cater to regional and non-English-speaking populations. While Kruti is powered by Krutrim's proprietary Krutrim V2 model, the company employs a hybrid architecture that includes open-source systems and external models. Krutrim competes with global players like OpenAI, Google, and Anthropic, as well as Indian startups such as Sarvam AI and

MakeMyTrip's record raise; Zuck goes talent shopping
MakeMyTrip's record raise; Zuck goes talent shopping

Time of India

time20-06-2025

  • Business
  • Time of India

MakeMyTrip's record raise; Zuck goes talent shopping

MakeMyTrip's record raise; Zuck goes talent shopping Also in the letter: What's the news: The fundraise marks the largest ever by a listed Indian new-age company. On Tuesday, MakeMyTrip disclosed in a regulatory filing that it is raising $3 billion to buy back shares from Group. MakeMyTrip cofounders Deep Kalra and Rajesh Magow currently hold 4.6% of the company's voting rights. Domestic control: Other major raises: Paytm raised $2.5 billion during its IPO in 2021. Through its public issue, Zomato (now Eternal) raised $1.25 billion and followed this with a $1 billion raise via a qualified institutional placement (QIP) in November 2024. Swiggy raised $1.2 billion from the public markets in its public issue in 2024 Ola Electric raised $740 million through its IPO in August last year. Also Read: Elevation Capital sells Ixigo shares worth Rs 97.4 crore; Schroder buys stake Numbers game: Elevation Capital has sold 53.9 lakh shares for Rs 97.4 crore, pricing them at Rs 180 apiece. In parallel, global investor Schroder International Selection Fund picked up shares worth Rs 96.9 crore in the company. This comes after Elevation sold 21.5 lakh shares in Ixigo for Rs 38.27 crore in May. As of March 31, Elevation held a 14% stake in Ixigo. That has now come down to 12%. The early-stage investor had originally put in Rs 63.1 crore across multiple tranches. Mark Zuckerberg made abortive attempt to buy ex-OpenAI executive Ilya Sutskever's AI startup: Report Driving the news: High-stakes game: Zuckerberg is spearheading an ambitious effort to build a 'superintelligence' team focused on developing artificial general intelligence (AGI), the elusive frontier where AI not only matches but surpasses human capabilities. Inside Meta, there is growing frustration with the sluggish progress of its current efforts, particularly the limitations of the Llama 4 models. Eager not to be left behind, Zuckerberg is setting his sights on outpacing OpenAI and Google in the AGI race. Tell me more: Also Read: Swiggy pilots travel and lifestyle concierge app Crew Details: What's the significance: Background: Krutrim eyes AI growth with BharatSah'AI'yak acquisition Tell me more: Why it matters? Also Read: Zoom out: Internal challenges: YouTube Shorts has hit 200 billion daily views: CEO Neal Mohan Numberwise: More details: At the 2025 Cannes Lions Festival, Mohan added that people now watch over 1 billion hours of YouTube on their TVs every day. In May, YouTube was the most-watched streaming platform in the US for the fourth consecutive month, topping Nielsen's The Gauge report. Future outlook: Also Read: MakeMyTrip has raised $3.1 billion in the largest fundraise by a listed Indian new-age company. This and more in today's ETtech Top 5.■ Swiggy's latest pilot■ Krutrim's latest acquisition■ YouTube Shorts' monster growthMakeMyTrip raises $3.1 billion in landmark deal; to slash Chinese firm stake to 20%Online travel platform MakeMyTrip has raised $3.1 billion through a mix of equity and debt, its banker, Morgan Stanley, confirmed on faced criticism last month over its sizable Chinese shareholding, after EaseMyTrip founder Nishant Pitti accused the platform of risking the travel data of Indian Army personnel. Following this buyback, stake will fall from 45% to around 20%. Its board representation will also shrink from five directors to Bajpai (R), MD and group CEO, Ixigo, and Rajnish Kumar (L), co-CEO, IxigoVenture fund Elevation Capital has offloaded shares of Le Travenues Technology, the parent company of travel platform Ixigo, for a second time in a month, pocketing a 25x return on its Zuckerberg, CEO, MetaMeta's $14.2 billion recent investment in Scale AI, and roping in its CEO Alexandr Wang, appears to be just the beginning. Mark Zuckerberg seems to be on a man on a mission : to recruit top AI talent, and reports suggest he made a move for one of the sector's most-talked-about to CNBC, Zuckerberg tried to acquire Safe Superintelligence, the $32 billion startup founded by former OpenAI cofounder Ilya Sutskever. The talks didn't go far, with Sutskever reportedly turning him down. Meta then shifted focus to poaching CEO Daniel Gross for its AI Meta CEO is assembling a handpicked team of 50 researchers, including a new head of AI, and has held private meetings with potential hires at his homes. Alongside Gross, Meta is also bringing in former GitHub CEO Nat Friedman to under Altman recently stated on a podcast that Zuckerberg has offered $100 million bonuses to attract talent, but so far, with little has ventured into a new category with the pilot launch of its travel and lifestyle concierge app, app blends human concierges with generative AI to help users plan trips, offering more than just itinerary year, ahead of its IPO, Swiggy tested a similar service, Rare Life, a personalised concierge service for exclusive experiences. That experiment was short-lived, as the company decided to focus on broader lifestyle offerings is part of Swiggy's latest push beyond food delivery, dining out, and quick commerce. In January, it launched Pyng, a professional services marketplace This signals a departure from Swiggy's earlier 'superapp' strategy. Instead of integrating all services under one platform, Swiggy has started offering standalone apps. Instamart, its quick commerce unit, got a dedicated app earlier this May, the company shut down its parcel delivery service, Genie , opting instead to focus on Bolt, its rapid food delivery feature now available in 500 cities. As food delivery growth tapers off, Swiggy and rival Zomato are betting on 10-minute orders to regain Aggarwal, founder, KrutrimOla's AI division, Krutrim, has acquired BharatSah'AI'yak , an AI platform developed by governance consultancy move comes as Krutrim seeks to expand its presence in government-led digital initiatives through its proprietary AI stack. As part of the agreement, Krutrim has also onboarded Samagra's core AI has been employed in projects spanning education, agriculture, and citizen services. It will now be integrated with Krutrim's in-house large language models (LLMs), cloud infrastructure, and agentic AI assistant platform, February, Ola founder Bhavish Aggarwal announced an investment of Rs 2,000 crore in Krutrim , with plans to increase it to Rs 10,000 crore by next has recently faced internal turbulence , including several senior-level departures and criticism following the alleged suicide of an employee, with claims of a toxic work Mohan, CEO, YouTubeYouTube Shorts now commands around 200 billion daily views , according to CEO Neal marks a dramatic leap from March 2024, when YouTube said Shorts was attracting around 70 billion daily views. In just one year, daily viewership has surged by nearly 186%.As Shorts continues to gain traction, YouTube plans to strengthen support for creators by rolling out more tools. Mohan announced that Veo 3, the latest version of Google DeepMind's video generation model, will launch on the platform later this summer.

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