AI4Bharat researchers set to raise $12 mn from Peak XV, Lightspeed: Report

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By Yuvraj Malik

(Reuters) – Researchers at AI4Bharat, a Microsoft-backed startup, have raised $12 million from venture capital firms Peak XV and Lightspeed Venture, according to three people familiar with the matter.

The larger-than-usual seed funding round confirms the growing interest in generative AI, after OpenAI’s ChatGPT wowed users with its ability to engage in human-like conversations. Most foundation rounds are typically in the $1-$2 million range.

AI4Bharat, also supported by the Indian government, is developing AI models for speech recognition and translation. In May, it unveiled a mobile assistant that aims to provide access to information about government schemes in multiple languages.

AI4Bharat, Peak XV and Lightspeed did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comment.

Incubated at the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras and supported by a grant from Infosys co-founder Nandan Nilekani, AI4Bharat is also working with payments agency National Payments Corp of India to develop systems for voice payments on feature phones.

The investment is among the first from Peak XV Partners after it rebranded from Sequoia Capital India and SEA after splitting with its US-based parent fund last month.

Other Peak XV investments in AI include AI voice assistant company Rudder, computer vision company Mad Street Den, and enterprise marketing platform Insider, according to its website.

The buzz around synthetic AI among consumers and businesses alike has helped related startups secure funding even as an uncertain economy undermines other companies’ investments.

Indian AI startups have raised $583 million this year, as of June, according to data from Venture Intelligence. They raised a total of $2.45 billion last year.

(This story has been corrected to clarify that “AI4Bharat researchers”, not “AI4Bharat” itself, are raising money in the heading and paragraph 1, and also to drop the reference to chatbot funding in paragraph 4)

(Reporting by Yuvraj Malik in Bengaluru)

(Only the title and image for this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard team; the rest of the content is generated automatically from a shared feed.)