Funding Recap: 5 Indian AI Start-ups That Raised Most Funds in 2024 In India, the overall number of AI start-ups is estimated to be around 6,200, with over 100 start-ups having raised funds successfully throughout the year.
You're reading Entrepreneur India, an international franchise of Entrepreneur Media.
As the world gears up to say a goodbye to 2024 the emerging technology of artificial intelligence (AI) continues to soar. The global venture funding figures stood at USD 66.5 billion in Q3 2024 with AI investments reaching close to USD 19 billion, or 28 per cent of all venture dollars, according to Crunchbase.
The biggest investment in the space was bagged by Databricks worth USD 10 billion earlier this month. Microsoft's OpenAI, Elon Musk's xAI, and Anthropic followed suit at USD 6.6 billion, USD 5 billion, and USD 4 billion, respectively. The US alone reported of 49 AI start-ups that raised USD 100 million or more in 2024.
Back home, the overall number of AI start-ups is estimated to be around 6,200, with over 100 start-ups having raised funds successfully throughout the year.
Let's take a look at top AI fundings raised by Indian start-ups in 2024-
1. Atlan
Founded in 2019 as a data and artificial intelligence (AI) governance start-up Atlan was co-founded by Prukalpa Sankar and Varun Banka. It raised USD 105 million in May 2024, elevating its valuation to USD 750 million. "Across roles, structures, and platforms, no two organizations handle data the same way: for data teams, diverse approaches are a feature, not a bug," said Varun Banka, co-founder, Atlan. It previously raised USD 27.5 million in May this year.
According to Tracxn, Atlan has raised a total funding of USD 206M over five rounds. It counts GIC, Meritech, WaterBridge, Salesforce Ventures, Insight Partners, and Surge among its 32 investors.
2024 Funding:
May 08, 2024, USD 105M- Series C
Mar 19, 2024- USD 27.5M- Series B
2. Haber
Founded in 2017 by Vipin Raghavan, Arjunan PN, and Priya Venkat, Haber develops AI-powered industrial robots that optimize factory operations by automating tasks such as sample collection, measurement, analysis, and intervention.
The start-up raised USD 44 million in a second round this year to scale operations internationally, with a focus on expanding into the US. With this the total funding for the Haber crosses USD 100 million courtesy the likes of Accel, Elevation, and BEENEXT.
2024 Funding:
Oct 11.2024- USD 38M- Series C
Dec 11, 2024- USD 44M- Series C
3. Krutrim
Within a year of launch, Bhavish Aggarwal's Krutrim managed to successfully become India's first Unicorn. Building a large language model (LLM) based on Indian languages and English, the start-up raised three rounds in 2024, taking the total funding to USD 75.1 million. The start-up is backed by the likes of Z47, Sarin Family India, and Jitendra Vaidya.
In December, Aggarwal was reported to have pledged his Ola Electric shares to raise debt funding (via issuing debentures) for his AI venture.
2024 Funding-
Jan 26, 2024- USD 50M- Series B
Feb 27, 2024- USD 1M- Series B
Apr 12, 2024- USD 99.6K- Angel
4. Neysa
In October, Sharad Sanghi and Anindya Das's AI cloud startup Neysa raised USD 30 million to expand its AI infrastructure, enhance R&D efforts, and prepare for the launch of its Gen AI Acceleration Cloud Service.
"This investment brings us closer to our vision of democratizing access to Gen AI and AI solutions for organizations across the world...By offering purpose-built, cost-effective AI-native solutions, we empower organizations to innovate confidently in a world being reshaped by AI," said Sharad Sanghi, co-founder and CEO, Neysa.
Having raised a total funding of USD 50 million, the start-up is backed by the likes of NTTVC, Z47 (formerly Matrix Partners India), and Nexus Venture Partners.
2024 Funding:
Apr 10, 2024- USD 20M- Seed
Oct 22, 2024- USD 30M- Series A
5. Nurix AI
Myntra and Cultfit co-founder Mukesh Bansal nascent venture Nurix AI specialises in building custom AI agents with advanced human-like voice and reasoning capabilities. The AI start-up raised USD 27.5 million in funding across seed and Series A rounds in 2024.
"At Nurix, we envision a future where AI agents, guided by human expertise, handle a significant portion of tasks, driving unprecedented gains in productivity and quality," said Bansal. Nurix AI aims to enhance its technological foundation and scale its operations, particularly in Asia and North America. Additionally, it also seeks to enhance its research and development (R&D) capabilities while bolstering its market position through long-term collaborations with AI hardware and product companies.
The start-up is backed by the likes of General Catalyst, Accel, and Meraki Labs.
2024 Funding:
Sep 24, 2024- USD 12.5M- Seed
Sep 24, 2024- USD 15M- Series A
