Скачать или смотреть Ola Krutrim Launches India’s First Agentic Assistant Kruti - Indian Startup News 265

Welcome to the Backstage with Millionaires weekly Indian startup news show, hosted by Caleb Friesen. This week, Ola’s Krutrim launches Kruti, its powerful new AI assistant, Pixxel secures a defence grant to build next-gen satellite tech for the Indian Air Force, Starlink gets clearance to launch in India within two months, India announces plans to build a 2nm GPU to rival Nvidia, Rapido enters food delivery with Ownly, Puch AI brings multilingual AI to WhatsApp; and Indian startups raise $131 million in fresh funding.

0:00 Ola Krutrim Launches Agentic AI Kruti
3:07 Pixxel Scores iDEX Spark Grant to Develop for Indian Air Force
5:17 Starlink Launching in India in Two Months
6:38 India Planning to Challenge Nvidia With 2nm GPU
7:56 Puch AI
9:01 Rapido Delivering Food With Ownly
10:08 Quick News Segment
10:43 Indian Startup Funding News

Ola Krutrim Launches Agentic AI Kruti
Ola's Krutrim has launched Kruti, an agentic AI assistant that books cabs, orders food, pays bills, and generates images—all through one conversation. You just say what you want, and Kruti takes care of the rest. It supports 13 Indian languages, understands diverse accents, and improves with use. Built on Krutrim V2, it handles voice, text, images, and works even with poor internet. Unlike other AI assistants focused on office tasks, Kruti solves real-world consumer problems in India. For now, Kruti only works with Ola. Bhavish Aggarwal’s Krutrim aims to prove its capabilities after past criticism about model polish.
Pixxel Scores iDEX Spark Grant to Develop for Indian Air Force
Pixxel has received an iDEX SPARK grant from the Ministry of Defence to develop hyperspectral and mid-wave infrared payloads for the Indian Air Force. These can detect military activity, heat signatures, and environmental changes in any weather. Pixxel already has three Firefly satellites in orbit and plans to scale to 24. Their Aurora platform turns satellite data into real-time intelligence. This grant signals India's push to reduce foreign defense dependence and build strategic tech domestically.
Starlink Launching in India in Two Months
Elon Musk’s Starlink has regulatory approval and will launch in India within two months, starting with a one-month free trial. The Starlink kit costs ₹33,000, with ₹3,000/month for unlimited data. Despite high costs, Starlink targets remote and underserved areas. However, it faces stiff competition from Airtel’s OneWeb and Reliance Jio, who already have deep infrastructure. Starlink’s success in India will hinge on its speed and reach.
India Planning to Challenge Nvidia With 2nm GPU
India is investing $200 million to develop a 2nm GPU by 2030 through C-DAC, targeting performance on par with NVIDIA and AMD. The chips could be mass-produced via TSMC at half the global cost. Tata Electronics is training engineers in Taiwan ahead of building India’s first AI-focused chip fab in Gujarat, a ₹91,000 crore project. Though India has yet to produce chips commercially, this GPU initiative reflects strategic ambition amid global export controls on advanced AI hardware.
Puch AI
Siddharth Bhatia and Arjit Jain have launched Puch AI, a multilingual AI assistant inside WhatsApp. It supports 11 Indian languages and uses natural conversational tone. Puch AI handles search, Q&A, image generation, and voice output. It also detects scam messages—users can simply forward them for verification.
Rapido Delivering Food With Ownly
Rapido is piloting Ownly, a food delivery platform competing with Swiggy and Zomato. Starting in Bengaluru, Ownly focuses on Bharat, offering meals under ₹150, zero commission for restaurants, and transparent pricing. Delivery charges (₹20–₹25) are paid by restaurants.
Quick News Segment
Byju’s sold Epic and Tynker—acquired for $700 million—for under $100 million in a distressed US court-approved sale. Fantasy app Sportasy faces an FIR under Haryana's new gambling law, possibly affecting Dream11 and My11Circle unless state-approved.
Indian Startup Funding News
This week, Indian startups raised $131 million—down from last week’s $203 million.

Bengaluru’s fintech unicorn CRED raised $72 million at a $3.5B valuation (down from $6.4B in 2022).

Noida-based EV startup Vecmocon raised $18 million to scale its Battery Management Systems and smart components.

OTT app Flick TV raised $2.3 million to create short, mobile-first vertical episodes.
Manufacturing startup Leumas raised $2.2 million to build AI-powered, robot-run pharma and wellness factories.

Bengaluru biotech startup Iom Bioworks raised ₹4 crore to offer personalized gut health plans using AI and microbiome science.

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