Google Set to Invest $4 Million in Corover.ai, Boosting India’s Conversational AI Landscape

• ByStartupStory     |    November 27, 2023

Google is reportedly on the verge of investing around $4 million in Corover.ai, a homegrown conversational artificial intelligence startup. Sources familiar with the matter reveal that this investment comes as Google aims to deepen its involvement in India’s burgeoning AI landscape.

Corover.ai stands out among Indian startups, actively contributing to the development of an indigenous large language model (LLM) named BharatGPT. This model boasts support for over a dozen Indian languages, reflecting the startup’s commitment to linguistic diversity. Google had previously made a non-equity funding commitment of $500,000 to Corover in March of this year, and discussions are now underway for a more substantial equity investment following the imminent official launch of BharatGPT in the coming weeks.

The startup has already received a substantial portion of the initial $500,000 funding since March, with the remainder anticipated by December. As a strategic partner, Google currently extends credits to Corover, facilitating access to cloud computing resources. The additional cash infusion is earmarked to scale up BharatGPT in the near future.

Corover.ai, founded in 2016, has garnered support from various investors, including CanBank Venture Capital Fund, Lead Angels, Cognify, Karekeba Ventures, and IIIT-Delhi. According to Tracxn, the startup held a valuation of $8.5 million as of December 2022.

Among its notable achievements, Corover.ai boasts a clientele that includes IRCTC, NPCI, ICICI Prudential, ITC, Max Life Insurance, Bosch, Karnataka Tourism, Israel Tourism, Chandigarh Smart City, Car and Bike, and more. Industry experts suggest that several Indian companies specializing in local languages have attracted the attention of global tech giants seeking to enhance their AI capabilities, particularly in diverse Indian vernacular languages.

This development follows the recent acquisition of Bengaluru-based AI-based video creation platform Rephrase.ai by Adobe, highlighting the growing interest of global tech companies in India’s AI domain. Corover.ai, with its focus on providing text, audio, and video chatbot solutions across various languages, is poised to contribute significantly to the expansion of conversational AI applications in domains such as banking, finance, healthcare, manufacturing, travel, and e-commerce. As the investment discussions progress, Corover.ai’s trajectory underscores the increasing recognition of Indian startups in shaping the future of artificial intelligence. Both Google and Corover.ai did not respond to queries by ET as of the time of reporting on Sunday.

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