In a significant move to bolster India's technological capabilities, Ola Group's third unicorn, Krutrim, has announced its ambitious plans to develop the nation's first homegrown family of chips, designed specifically for artificial intelligence (AI), general compute, and Edge computing. This announcement was made by Bhavish Aggarwal, CEO and founder of Ola Group, during the company's annual event.
Krutrim's upcoming family of chips includes three distinct models: Bodhi for AI, Sarv for general compute, and Ojas for Edge. The startup is targeting the launch of its first chip by 2026, with the advanced Bodhi 2 expected to be introduced by 2028. These chips are anticipated to place India on the global map for cutting-edge semiconductor technology.
To achieve these milestones, Krutrim has formed strategic partnerships with Arm and Untether AI, companies renowned for their expertise in CPU and AI chip development, platforms, and systems. This collaboration is expected to accelerate the development and deployment of Krutrim’s chips, making them competitive in the global market.
As part of its expansion strategy, Krutrim aims to significantly scale up its data center capacity from the current 20 MW to a staggering 1 GW by 2028. This expansion will create a powerful computing and data storage infrastructure, enabling Krutrim to provide top-tier AI services not only to India but also to global markets.
“The data centre will be a computing and data storage powerhouse, enabling Krutrim to offer world-class AI services to India and the world,” the company stated.
Bhavish Aggarwal, CEO and founder of Ola Group, emphasized India's potential to become a global leader in future technologies such as AI, citing the country’s contribution of 20% to the world’s data and its large pool of tech talent. “Amidst rapidly changing technology paradigms, India has a unique opportunity to become a global superpower in technologies of the future such as AI. India, being the source for 20% of the world’s data and home to one of the largest tech talent pools, is fully equipped to lead the AI wave,” he said.
Krutrim is also expanding its cloud services to meet the growing demand for AI, traditional, and cloud-native application workloads. Krutrim Cloud will now offer a comprehensive suite of services, including infrastructure domains, developer platforms, data platforms, AI models, AI platforms, and AI applications.
Currently, Krutrim Cloud is operational for Ola Electric and Ola Consumer (formerly Ola Cabs). The group is utilizing the cloud for a language hub with multimodal translation capabilities, customer servicing with AI (Ola Group’s customer service has transitioned to an AI-driven service center), and Maps APIs & SDKs to enable intelligent search for enterprises.
The company’s transition from Azure to Krutrim Cloud occurred in May, following a public disagreement between Aggarwal and Microsoft over “pronoun illness” in LinkedIn posts. Aggarwal extended an invitation to other companies to leave Azure and migrate to Krutrim’s Indian stack, with a limited-time offer to make the transition free.
Looking ahead, Krutrim Cloud plans to introduce around 50 new services, including virtual machines (VMs), cloud storage, advanced security measures for data protection, and observability features for precise data monitoring. The company claims that these services will provide Indian developers with a cost-effective solution for developing technology products.
Since its launch, Krutrim Cloud has attracted over 25,000 active developers, with more than 250 billion API calls made across various products. To further entice developers, the AI unicorn announced an offer of free cloud services worth INR 100 crore until Diwali 2025. Additionally, developers working on the ONDC platform will receive free access to Krutrim Cloud for one year.
Krutrim also launched the ‘Krutrim for Startups’ – Udaan program, offering INR 50 lakh to the first cohort of startups in partnership with investors Z47 (formerly Matrix Partners India), DeVC, and South Park Commons. This initiative is aimed at nurturing innovation and supporting the growth of emerging startups.
Krutrim has been diligently working on these technological advancements for some time. Back in December 2023, Ravi Jain, Head of Strategy at Ola Electric, revealed to Inc42 that the company was actively engaged in designing and developing in-house technologies, including a submersion cooling system for cloud infrastructure and chip designs. These efforts are expected to further enhance Krutrim's capabilities and solidify its position as a leader in AI and cloud services.
Krutrim's ambitious plans to develop India's first homegrown AI chips and expand its cloud services underscore the company's commitment to positioning India as a global leader in emerging technologies. With strategic partnerships, a substantial increase in data center capacity, and an innovative approach to cloud services, Krutrim is set to play a pivotal role in driving the AI revolution both within India and on the global stage.
As the company continues to innovate and support the developer community, Krutrim is poised to not only meet the growing demands of AI and cloud-native workloads but also to foster a vibrant ecosystem for startups and tech innovators in India. The next few years will be critical as Krutrim rolls out its AI chips and cloud services, potentially transforming the technological landscape of the country.