A Chinese AI startup, DeepSeek, has taken the web by storm, causing the selloff of global technology stocks with its free AI assistant. Developed just last week, the cheap AI tool promises to work with less data consumption and also lower operational costs as against the prevailing services.Its downloads even surpassed OpenAI’s ChatGPT in the Apple App Store of the United States.
Now, when DeepSeek was dominating the headlines, many Indians started questioning whether their nation was actually progressing in the AI development process. Next followed the discussions of numerous users about an AI startup founded by Ola co-founder Bhavish Aggarwal, Krutrim.
Krutrim: India’s First AI Unicorn
Krutrim had raised $50 million funding valued at $1 billion by January 2024. However, it soon received flak for giving out wrong answers to the user’s query after launching.
When social media users witnessed the buzz created by DeepSeek, they also trolled Krutrim along with its performance.“Everyone is talking about DeepSeek but no one is talking about Krutrim AI that can predict when your Ola electric scooter will catch fire with precision”, quipped X user Madhu Menon, referring to the controversies surrounding Ola.
Others just wanted to know if the Aggarwal AI was doing anything: “How’s Krutrim coming along?” an X user asked, tagging him. Saikiran Kannan was asking the same again, “What is the progress of Ola Krutrim again?” While all the others wouldn’t even let Aggarwal have hope to win, Sandeep Manudhane said, “Ola Krutrim will destroy DeepSeek.”
Still, a few users inquired about the whereabouts of Aggarwal’s AI dreams. One user questioned: “He also started AI named Krutrim—what happened to that?
Some users also aired their frustrations regarding the accuracy of Krutrim. Mathayi posted a screenshot of an incorrect response from the chatbot and remarked, “Meanwhile our prestigious Krutrim! At least please turn off this thing to save from further embarrassment!”