Ola Krutrim Tests In-House AI Chip ‘Bodhi’ for Inferencing, Plans Training Upgrade by 2028

Krutrim, an artificial intelligence startup under the Ola umbrella, is advancing its AI ambitions with the testing of its in-house chip, Bodhi, designed for inference. The company aims to deploy the chip for AI training by 2027-28, an Ola executive announced at the Krutrim Samvaad event on Monday.

“We are not just a multi-company; we are also a team building our own chips. Why do we need our own chips? The reason is quite clear. Many may not be aware that India faces an embargo on chip imports,” said Navyendu Agarwal, Group CIO, Ola Electric. 

Starting May this year, the country will be restricted from importing more than 50,800 to 70,000 GPUs for AI model development over the next year, he added.  

As of February 2025, the U.S. has proposed export restrictions on advanced AI chips, placing India in the second tier of its new framework. This tier limits the number of GPUs India can import, capping it at 50,000 advanced AI chips. The framework categorizes countries based on their access to AI chip exports, with stricter controls for certain nations.

Referring to the initiative, Aggarwal emphasised the urgency of building a self-sufficient AI ecosystem. "It is crucial for us to act now and develop our own AI infrastructure," he said.

He highlighted that Ola Krutrim has assembled a specialized team focused on chip optimization to enhance cloud infrastructure. 

The Krutrim event aimed to educate stakeholders about India’s homegrown AI model, ensuring they won’t have to pay exorbitant fees for AI services from other countries.

Ola Krutrim is also optimising AI cloud computing to provide cost-effective AI model training and deployment solutions. The company emphasizes AI tailored for the Indian market, focusing on regional languages, cultural context, and local applications.

Krutrim, an AI startup backed by Ola, was founded in April 2023 to develop Large Language Models (LLMs). The primary vision behind Ola Krutrim is to drive India toward self-reliance in AI by building its own AI ecosystem, reducing dependence on foreign technologies.

Manufacturing semiconductor chips is one of the major ambitions of India in order to build its own AI ecosystem. The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) is highly focused on developing all the possible infrastructure for semiconductor industry in the country; developing skill sets through academic institutions, strengthening the supply chain for required raw material, etc. 

Ola Krutrim will also be involved in the strategic partnership with global giant chip design to build ‘Bodhi’, Bhavish Agarwal, Founder, Ola Krutrim had said earlier in an event.