Ola Krutrim to build leaner teams, lays off 100 employees: Report
Bhavish Aggarwal-led Ola Krutrim has laid off more than 100 employees in its second round of layoffs, impacting the AI unicorn's linguistics team.
Bhavish Aggarwal’s AI startup Ola Krutrim has reportedly laid off more than 100 employees, months after it undertook layoffs and saw three of its senior executives leave the company, The Economic Times said in a report.
The artificial intelligence unicorn has reportedly let go of a large portion of its linguistics team as it looks to run a tighter ship at the company.
“As part of a strategic realignment and our commitment to efficient capital deployment, we are building leaner, more agile teams. This transition aligns with evolving business priorities and reflects our long-term vision to build India’s own full-stack AI platform,” a spokesperson for Krutrim told YourStory.
The ET report added that Krutrim was actively hiring for roles in its linguistics team earlier this year, including full-time roles in its AI training and evaluation teams across 10 Indian languages, including Tamil, Telugu, and Odia.
Krutrim launched Kruti, an agentic AI assistant, in June, and according to ET, the layoffs began soon after this launch. As per the documents viewed by ET, the layoffs happened due to a shift in the company’s priorities and other external factors. Other sources told ET that the company is facing funding delays and a lack of traction for its products.
According to Mint, the Bhavish Aggarwal-led firm had reduced its fundraising plan to $300 million from $500 million due to a lack of interest from investors. It had last raised $50 million from Z47 Partners in a round that saw the company become a unicorn.
When contacted regarding the layoffs, Krutrim said, “We urge you to refrain from publishing unverified reports that are not substantiated by accurate facts. We also request you to exercise due diligence in verifying the information before publication.”
Moreover, in June, the company acquired BharatSah’AI’yak, an AI-driven platform developed by Samagra, known for its work on government-facing solutions in education, agriculture, and governance. As part of this deal, Krutrim had onboarded Samagra’s core AI team.
Edited by Suman Singh