Ola planning to get into the AI chip business, bets big on Krutrim AI and its ecosystem

Ola founder Bhavish Aggarwal recently announced a major upgrade for Ola Electric scooters with the integration of its AI virtual assistant, Krutrim, into the MoveOS5 operating system.

This update, which will be released in beta by the end of October (around Diwali), is part of Ola’s broader push into AI and other advanced technologies. The announcement was made during Sankalp 2024, Ola’s annual community event, held at the Ola Campus in Bengaluru on August 15.

Expanding Krutrim AI
Krutrim, Ola’s AI virtual assistant, is set to be a game-changer for users of Ola Electric scooters. The AI assistant will enhance the user experience by offering a more interactive and intuitive interface, making daily commutes smarter and more convenient. This integration is part of Ola’s strategy to create a seamless ecosystem across its range of products.

In addition to being integrated into scooters, Krutrim is also being integrated heavily into Ola’s customer service initiatives. The AI Customer Care app, another product powered by Krutrim, is designed to automate customer service operations. This app, which supports 22 Indian languages, is already being used by Ola Electric and Ola Cabs.

As Aggarwal pointed out, customers calling Ola’s support line might now interact with an AI agent rather than a human representative. The app is available for enterprise use and can be onboarded in just one day, offering businesses a quick and efficient way to enhance their customer service capabilities.

Krutrim is also rolling out Bhashik, a multimodal language hub capable of translating videos into different languages. This tool is being used by various companies, including Unacademy, which has integrated Krutrim’s translation API into its language-learning app. During Sankalp 2024, Aggarwal demonstrated Bhashik’s capabilities by live-streaming the event in multiple languages, showcasing the platform’s versatility.

A new image-recognition feature for Krutrim was also teased during the event, set to launch later this year. This feature will further expand the capabilities of Krutrim, making it a more comprehensive AI assistant that can cater to a wide range of needs.

Venturing into AI chip designing and manufacturing
The company plans to make a bold entry into the AI chip manufacturing sector with the development of Bodhi 1, a silicon chip designed for advanced Large Language Models (LLMs) and vision models.

This chip is expected to enter production by 2026. Additionally, Ola is planning to develop Bodhi 2, another AI chip that will support models with over 10 trillion parameters, slated for release by 2028. These chips will position Ola as a key player in the AI hardware space, potentially offering solutions that could be used across various industries.

Enhancing Ola Maps
Aggarwal also provided updates on Ola Maps, the company’s mapping platform, which is being enhanced to cover over 95 per cent of use cases in routing, places, maps, and tiles, along with expanded SDKs for developers. This improvement is expected to make Ola Maps a more robust tool for both users and developers, providing better accuracy and functionality.

In the e-commerce sector, Ola is introducing an AI-driven tool called Shopping Co-pilot, which aims to deliver a personalized and interactive shopping experience. This tool builds on Ola’s existing services on the government-backed Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC), where it already offers food and grocery delivery. The company plans to expand its offerings on ONDC, providing users with more choices and a better shopping experience.

Ola’s announcements at Sankalp 2024 highlight the company’s ambitious plans to integrate AI into various aspects of its business, from electric vehicles to customer service and beyond.

With the upcoming release of MoveOS5 and the integration of Krutrim, Ola is set to revolutionize the user experience on its platforms. As it ventures into AI chip manufacturing and expands its e-commerce and payment services, Ola continues to position itself as a leader in innovation and technology in India and beyond.