What a miss! Ola's Krutrim fails to hail a ride on India's biggest AI summit

As the India AI Impact Summit 2026 kicked off at Bharat Mandapam, Bhavish Aggarwal’s AI startup, Krutrim, had promised an impressive showcase. Just days prior, the company had heralded a shift in India's AI landscape, transitioning from experimentation to large-scale production. They invited attendees to their booth, boasting about integrating AI models and cloud infrastructure on a single platform to aid organizations in their deployment journeys. However, as thousands of delegates flocked to the summit, Krutrim's expected presence was conspicuously absent from major discussions. No senior executives took the stage, there were no significant product announcements, and the anticipated showcase that had been promoted did not materialize. When approached for comment, the company did not respond to inquiries about its lack of visibility at such a pivotal event. Krutrim's absence is particularly notable given its self-styled position as a leading AI player in India. Founded in 2023, it quickly ascended to become the country’s first AI unicorn by January 2024, with ambitions to create a comprehensive ecosystem that includes foundation models and cloud infrastructure. Its offerings consist of the Krutrim large language model, Krutrim Cloud for AI computing, and Kruti, an assistant designed for various tasks such as service bookings. The summit, centered on themes of sovereign AI and enterprise adoption, could have served as an excellent platform for Krutrim to exhibit its advancements. Meanwhile, competitors like Sarvam AI and Gnani.ai grabbed the spotlight with their new launches, showcasing innovations that are entirely developed and governed within India. Amidst this backdrop, Krutrim's lackluster performance raises concerns, particularly considering the organizational turbulence it has faced over the past year. The startup has experienced several rounds of layoffs, significantly impacting its linguistics team, a crucial element for developing Indic AI systems. Reports indicate that nearly 200 employees have been let go since the company's inception, including multiple high-level executives across various departments. Despite its ambitious product launches, Krutrim is yet to secure a significant foothold in the market. Its consumer assistant app, Kruti, has only achieved around 100,000 downloads on Google Play, which pales in comparison to both global and local competitors. In contrast, Sarvam's recently launched Indus app surpassed 50,000 downloads in less than a week. As India’s AI landscape evolves from mere hype to practical deployment, Krutrim’s absence at the summit left a noticeable void, one that competitors swiftly filled. Once a frontrunner in the industry, the future of Krutrim now hinges on whether it can rebound or if it will struggle to keep pace with the rapidly advancing field.