Researchers at AI4Bharat<\/a>, a start-up backed by Microsoft<\/a>, are raising $12 million (nearly Rs. 100 crore) from venture capital firms Peak XV and Lightspeed Venture, according to three people familiar with the matter.<\/p>\n The larger-than-usual seed funding round underscores the growing interest in generative AI<\/a>, after OpenAI<\/a>‘s ChatGPT<\/a> dazzled users with its ability to engage in human-like conversations. Most seed rounds are usually up to $1 million (nearly Rs. 8,300 crore) to $2 million (nearly Rs. 16,500 crore).<\/p>\n AI4Bharat, which is also backed by the Indian government, has been developing AI models for speech recognition and translation. It unveiled in May a mobile assistant that aims to make information on government schemes accessible in multiple languages.<\/p>\n AI4Bharat, Peak XV and Lightspeed did not immediately respond to Reuters’ requests for comment.<\/p>\n Incubated at the Indian Institute of Technology in Madras and supported by a grant from Infosys<\/a> co-founder Nandan Nilekani, AI4Bharat is also working with payments agency National Payments of India to develop systems for voice-based payments on feature phones.<\/p>\n The investment is among the first from Peak XV Partners after rebranding from Sequoia Capital India and SEA following a split with its US-based parent fund last month.<\/p>\n Peak XV’s other AI investments include voice assistant firm AI Rudder, computer vision firm Mad Street Den and enterprise marketing platform Insider, according to its website.<\/p>\n The buzz around generative AI among both consumers and businesses has helped related start-ups draw funding even as an uncertain economy saps investments for other companies.<\/p>\n Indian AI start-ups have raised $583 million (nearly Rs. 4,800 crore) this year, as of June, according to data from Venture Intelligence. They raised a total of $2.45 billion (nearly Rs. 20,650 crore) last year.<\/p>\n \u00a9 Thomson Reuters 2023<\/em><\/p>\n For the latest tech news<\/a> and reviews<\/a>, follow Gadgets 360 on Twitter<\/a>, Facebook<\/a>, and Google News<\/a>. For the latest videos on gadgets and tech, subscribe to our YouTube channel<\/a>.<\/p>\n
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