New Delhi: Ola, the leading mobility platform in India, has unveiled its ambitious project to develop and deploy India’s first indigenous AI model, named Krutrim. The company claims that Krutrim is a breakthrough in AI research, as it is built on local Indian languages, data, and culture, unlike the Western AI products that dominate the market.
Ola’s founder and CEO, Bhavish Aggarwal, announced Krutrim during a live event on Friday, December 15, 2023, where he showcased its features and potential applications. He said that Krutrim is a result of Ola’s vision to create a world-class AI ecosystem in India and to empower millions of Indians with the benefits of AI.
Krutrim, which means artificial in Sanskrit, is a large language model (LLM) that can understand and generate natural language in 20 and 10 Indian languages respectively, including Marathi, Hindi, Telugu, Kannada, and Odia, among others. It can also perform various tasks such as writing stories, poems, jokes, and dialogues, as well as answering questions and conversing with users.
The interface of Krutrim is designed to be simple and user-friendly, making it accessible and appealing to a wide range of users. Aggarwal demonstrated the capabilities of Krutrim by asking it to write a poem in Hindi, a story in Marathi, and a welcome speech in English. He also interacted with Krutrim using voice and text inputs and received responses in different languages and tones.
Krutrim will have two versions: the basic one, which is available for free for anyone to use, and the Pro one, which will offer advanced features and customization options for a fee. The Pro version is expected to be launched in the next quarter, Ola said.
Krutrim is powered by a massive amount of data, as it has been trained on over 2 trillion tokens, or units of text, from various sources. Ola said that Krutrim is still in its beta phase and that it will continue to improve and expand its functionalities over time. The company also revealed its plans to build a complete AI stack that will include an AI chip, a sustainable AI cloud, a family of AI models, and a user-facing application.
Ola’s entry into the AI space is a significant move, as it challenges the dominance of the Western tech giants such as Google, OpenAI, Microsoft, and Meta, who have developed their LLMs such as ChatGPT, Google Assistant, Microsoft Cortana, and Meta AI. Aggarwal said that India needs its own AI model, as the Western ones are not suited for the Indian context, and that Ola wants to lead the way in creating a truly Indian AI.
AI is one of the most disruptive and influential technologies of the present and the future, and the year 2023 has seen many developments and innovations in this field. Ola’s Krutrim is a remarkable addition to this landscape, as it aims to establish India’s position and direction on AI, along with the government and other stakeholders.
However, developing and deploying complex AI models is not an easy task, as it requires huge amounts of investment, computing power, and human resources. It also poses ethical, social, and legal challenges that need to be addressed carefully. It remains to be seen if Ola and its Krutrim can overcome these hurdles and achieve their goals. After all, AI is not just a business opportunity that depends on the availability of funds, but a long-term vision that requires constant evolution and adaptation to the changing needs and expectations of the users and the society.
