The 9 Indian Startups Eating All of India’s AI Money

As the backbone of India’s next phase of digital growth, AI startups have risen above just being a distant trend. From AI-powered healthcare diagnosis to sovereign LLMs for Indian languages, AI in quantum computing, logistical optimisation and automation in enterprises, startups have shown that India’s AI products are not only built for local use, but also scale globally. 

Here are the 9 AI startups shaping India’s AI story across infrastructure, enterprise AI, and deep vertical applications.

1. Observe.AI

Founded in 2017 by Swapnil Jain, Akash Singh, and Sharath Keshava Narayana, Observe.AI is based in San Francisco and Bengaluru. With about $213 million in funding from investors like SoftBank and Menlo Ventures, the company aims to transform contact centres with advanced voice AI technology. 

Analysing over 1 billion customer interactions annually, Observe.AI enhances call centre intelligence by evaluating tone, sentiment, and compliance, positioning itself as a leader in customer engagement.

2. Kogo AI

Kogo AI, founded by Raj K. Gopalakrishnan, Praveer Kochhar, and Rohan Verma in 2019 and based in Bengaluru, specialises in generative AI for mobility, commerce, and storytelling logistics. With over $172 million in funding, Kogo AI combines conversational AI with generative storytelling to enhance user experiences in travel, fintech, and consumer platforms. 

Originally a “storytelling travel companion,” it now personalises journeys using contextual data like user location and preferences, while helping enterprises drive monetisation.

3. Qure.AI

Founded in 2016 by Prashant Warier and Pooja Rao, Qure.AI is a Mumbai-based startup specialising in healthcare imaging AI, having raised over $122 million from notable investors like Sequoia India and Novo Holdings. The company develops advanced AI solutions for medical imaging, specifically targeting conditions such as tuberculosis, strokes, and lung diseases. 

Its tools have been validated by the WHO and are currently deployed in over 70 countries. Qure.AI has made a significant impact, screening more than 20 million patients with its innovative technologies, while also setting its sights on an IPO by 2026.

4. Yellow.ai

Founded in 2016 by Raghu Ravinutala, Jaya Kishore Reddy Gollareddy, and Rashid Khan, Yellow.ai, headquartered in Bengaluru, has rapidly emerged as a leading player in the conversational AI landscape, securing over $102 million in funding from notable investors like Sapphire Ventures and WestBridge Capital. 

With a strong focus on enterprise automation, the platform facilitates millions of chat and voice interactions across various sectors, including BFSI, telecom, and retail. Its omni-channel bots offer support in over 100 languages globally. Notably, Yellow.ai serves clients in over 85 countries and boasts a strong portfolio of more than 1,000 enterprise customers.

5. Sarvam AI

Founded in 2023 by Vivek Raghavan and Pratyush Kumar, Sarvam AI is advancing India’s AI sovereignty from Bengaluru. With over $53.5 million in funding from investors like Lightspeed, Peak XV, and Khosla Ventures, the company is focused on developing India’s first sovereign foundational model under the IndiaAI Mission. 

Sarvam AI excels in open-source AI, offering models in 10+ Indian languages and integrating text, speech, and reasoning capabilities for enterprise and government use. They were the first to access the IndiaAI Mission’s GPU program, utilising 4,000 H100 GPUs.

6. Krutrim (Ola Krutrim)

Founded in 2023 by Bhavish Aggarwal and based in Bengaluru, Krutrim is leading India’s AI sector, focusing on foundational AI and Indic language LLMs. As India’s first AI unicorn, valued at $1 billion and having raised over $51.1 million in funding, it aims to provide a localised alternative to ChatGPT. 

The platform features a lightweight, multilingual LLM that supports over 22 Indian languages and has surpassed 1 million app downloads in just three months, addressing India’s linguistic diversity. Most recently, the company launched its agentic AI assistant called Kruti.

7. Neysa

Founded in 2023 by former executives from Microsoft Azure and Nutanix, Sharad Sanghi and Anindya Das, Neysa is headquartered in Bengaluru and has secured $50 million in seed and Series A funding. The company specialises in AI infrastructure, offering GPU cloud and MLOps services that empower startups and enterprises to develop and implement AI solutions without relying entirely on global hyperscalers. 

Positioned as India’s native AI infrastructure layer, Neysa has successfully onboarded over 200 enterprise customers within just two years. However, Neysa faces the ongoing challenge of maintaining capital-intensive infrastructure in the face of formidable competition from hyperscaler giants.

8. QpiAI

Founded in 2019 by Dr Nagendra Nagaraja and headquartered in Bengaluru, QpiAI has emerged as a pioneering startup at the forefront of AI and quantum computing convergence. With over $43.3 million in funding from various early-stage deep tech investors, the company is developing the QpiAI Explorer, an innovative full-stack AI and quantum AI operating system tailored for industrial applications. 

This platform uniquely integrates AI, digital twin simulations, and quantum computing, enabling enterprises to effectively simulate and optimize AI models across sectors such as manufacturing, mobility, energy, and semiconductor R&D. Positioned within India’s Quantum Valley initiative in Amaravati, QpiAI is actively contributing to positioning India as a leader in this competitive space, which is primarily dominated by the US, EU, and China. 

9. Nurix AI

Founded by Mukesh Bansal in 2024, Nurix is headquartered in Bengaluru and has secured over $27 million in funding from notable investors, including Accel and General Catalyst. The company specialises in developing custom AI agents tailored for enterprises, focusing on enhancing sales, support, and workflow processes. 

With pilot programs demonstrating impressive efficiency gains of 30–50%, Nurix is poised to become a leader in India’s burgeoning “agentic AI” sector, leveraging its strong funding and the founder’s expertise to drive innovation in the marketplace.

[The funding amounts are based on a report from Tracxn.]

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