We talk a lot about ChatGPT, Midjourney, and the latest trending AI apps — but how often do we actually know what’s being built right here in India? The truth is, Indian founders aren’t just using AI — they’re building it. Across voice, video, healthcare, and language, there are tools already powering real businesses, solving real problems, and scaling globally. But because they don’t always come with hype or billion-dollar headlines, we often miss them.
Every week, we see shiny new AI tools go viral — but most of them come from the same few countries and big-name players.
What we often miss?
The fact that Indian founders are building seriously good AI products — across voice tech, video automation, healthcare diagnostics, language models, and even full-blown assistants. Tools that are practical, localised, and already in use across the world.
Here’s a list of the most influential AI tools and companies created by Indians—what they do, why they matter, and use case:
Language & Foundation Models: Building AI that speaks India
1. Sarvam AI – Sarvam is pursuing sovereign, India-first language models with a focus on multilingual coverage and voice-first use. It aims to support Indian languages across tasks like summarisation, translation, and voice assistants, delivered through APIs and partnerships. The goal is practical: opening up digital services for hundreds of millions of non-English users.
Founded by: Vivek Raghavan & Pratyush Kumar (2023)
What it does: Sarvam builds AI models that can understand and talk in Indian languages—not just Hindi or English but also Tamil, Telugu, Bengali and more.
Use Case: Imagine a farmer in Odisha getting weather updates or crop advice in Odia on his phone. That’s the kind of problem Sarvam is solving.
2. Krutrim – Spun out of Ola, Krutrim is designed as a general-purpose AI assistant for Indian users. It focuses on Indian languages and cultural context, offering an everyday tool that feels more natural and useful locally.
Founded by: Bhavish Aggarwal (2024)
What it does: Krutrim can understand and respond in multiple Indian languages like Hindi, Tamil, and Telugu, alongside English. It helps users with everyday tasks such as drafting emails, answering questions, or planning trips.
Use Case: A shopkeeper in Jaipur speaks to Krutrim in Hindi-Hinglish, and it drafts a professional English email for his suppliers.
3. Veena (Maya Research) – Veena is a voice AI that makes digital voices sound more natural in Indian languages, especially Hindi and Hinglish. Unlike global AI voices that often sound flat, Veena is tuned to Indian tones and expressions.
Founded by: Maya Research (2025)
What it does: Veena can generate natural-sounding speech for Hindi, Hinglish, and mixed conversations. It is built for call centres, e-learning platforms, and public services.
Use Case: An online education app uses Veena to create clear and natural Hindi audio lessons for students who are more comfortable learning in their mother tongue.
Why it matters: Foundation and speech models rooted in Indian linguistic realities aren’t just patriotic—they’re product-market fit. They expand the addressable market for every downstream app.
Content, Video & Marketing AI: Performance at scale
4. Gan.ai – Gan.ai makes personalised videos at scale. You record one video, and it can auto-generate thousands of customised versions with each person’s name, offer, or location added naturally.
Founded by: Suvrat Bhooshan (2021)
What it does: Helps businesses create personalised marketing videos without shooting multiple times.
Use Case: Zomato records one food ad, and Gan.ai automatically creates versions for each customer—“Hi Rahul, here are today’s offers near you.”
5. Rephrase.ai – Rephrase.ai pioneered text-to-avatar video, where typed text turns into a lifelike person speaking on screen. The company was acquired by Adobe and its technology is now part of mainstream creative tools.
Founded by: Ashray Malhotra, Nisheeth Lahoti & Shivam Mangla (2018)
What it does: Creates realistic talking-avatar videos directly from text.
Use Case: A bank sends out a welcome video to new customers using an AI avatar instead of hiring actors and a production team.
Why it matters: This category turns attention into outcomes. Indian founders are shipping tools that reduce creative bottlenecks and improve media efficiency—two of marketing’s hardest problems.
Conversational AI & Agentic Work: From chatting to doing
6. Gupshup – Gupshup is the backbone of business conversations on SMS and WhatsApp. It powers messaging, chatbots, and transactions for over 100,000 businesses.
Founded by: Beerud Sheth (2005)
What it does: Helps companies talk to customers through WhatsApp, SMS, and other chat apps, while also offering AI tools to build chatbots.
Use Case: When you book a movie on BookMyShow and instantly get your WhatsApp ticket confirmation, that’s powered by Gupshup.
7. Haptik & Yellow.ai – Both platforms help large companies automate customer support, sales, and HR through chat and voice bots. Haptik is strong in India, especially after joining Reliance Jio, while Yellow.ai has expanded globally with multi-language support.
Founded by: Haptik by Aakrit Vaish & Swapan Rajdev (2013) and Yellow.ai by Raghu Ravinutala (2016)
What it does: Lets businesses create smart chatbots and voicebots that answer questions, take orders, or help employees.
Use Case: Ordering a Domino’s pizza on WhatsApp or checking your Jio mobile balance with a chatbot—these run on platforms like Haptik and Yellow.ai.
8. Observe.AI – Observe.AI helps call centres work smarter by listening to conversations, analysing them, and coaching agents live during the call.
Founded by: Swapnil Jain, Akash Singh & Jithendra Vepa
What it does: Transcribes and studies customer calls, points out what’s working, and even trains virtual voice agents to handle routine questions.
Use Case: While you’re talking to a bank’s call centre, Observe.AI guides the agent in real time—“Offer a discount now”—making your call faster and smoother.
9. Bhindi AI – Bhindi AI is a new kind of assistant that doesn’t just answer but also does the work. It connects with your apps to carry out tasks from a single instruction.
Founded by: Sowmay Jain
What it does: Acts like a digital helper that can schedule meetings, send emails, update spreadsheets, and more—all from one prompt.
Use Case: You type, “Plan a team meeting and share the agenda.” Bhindi automatically creates the calendar invite, writes the email, and updates the sheet.
Why it matters: Conversational AI is maturing from chatbots to agents that act. Indian companies are shipping at both the infrastructure layer (Gupshup) and the “last mile of work” (Observe, Haptik/Yellow, Bhindi).
Healthcare AI: Clinical impact, global reach
10. Qure.ai – Qure.ai is one of India’s most globally recognised AI products, approved by regulators like the FDA and CE. Its tools read chest X-rays and head CT scans, and are used in 50+ countries to quickly detect diseases.
Founded by: Prashant Warier & Dr. Pooja Rao
What it does: Uses AI to read medical scans in seconds, helping doctors detect tuberculosis, stroke, and other conditions much faster.
Use Case: A doctor in a rural hospital uploads a chest X-ray, and Qure.ai instantly highlights signs of TB—saving time when every minute matters.
11. Niramai Health Analytix – Niramai developed a painless and radiation-free method to detect breast cancer early, using AI and thermal imaging. It’s portable and can be used in hospitals, diagnostic centres, or even health camps.
Founded by: Dr. Geetha Manjunath & Nidhi Mathur
What it does: Provides an easy, non-invasive screening method that protects privacy and is especially suited for women in low-resource areas.
Use Case: Women in small towns attend a free health camp, undergo a quick thermal scan, and get early detection of breast cancer without discomfort.
12. AIndra Systems – AIndra is building affordable AI-powered diagnostic tools for cervical cancer and other diseases. It uses AI-enhanced microscopes that can be deployed even in low-resource settings.
Founded by: Adarsh Natarajan
What it does: Offers point-of-care diagnostic devices that make screening more accessible and affordable.
Use Case: A community health worker collects samples in a rural clinic; AIndra’s device analyses them on the spot, giving quick results for cervical cancer screening.
Why it matters: Unlike vanity demos, these products clear regulatory bars and improve public health metrics. It’s India’s AI solving India’s problems—and exporting the solutions.
Key Tip for our readers:
If you run a business, or even if you’re just exploring how AI can help your work, it can be confusing where to start. Here’s a simple method:
Take the list of tools from this article (Sarvam AI, Krutrim, Gan.ai, Qure.ai, Pixis, etc.).
Go to your favourite AI assistant—whether it’s ChatGPT, Gemini, or any other.
Paste the list of tools and then write out your business details—what you sell, who your customers are, how you currently operate.
Ask the AI to match the tools to your needs—it will suggest which of these tools can be useful for your specific situation, and how to apply them in a step-by-step way.
Example Prompt You Can Use:
I run a [describe your business in detail—e.g., an online clothing store for women, a small restaurant, a healthcare clinic, or a software startup].
Here is a list of AI tools founded by Indians: [paste the list from the article].
Please analyse my business and suggest:
1. Which of these AI tools can help me the most?
2. Practical use cases for each tool in my business.
3. A step-by-step plan for how I can actually start using them.
Final Word
India’s AI story in 2025 isn’t about one big breakout — it’s a portfolio of wins. From world-class healthcare tools to the plumbing behind WhatsApp conversations, from smart voice models to sovereign AI infrastructure, Indian founders are quietly shaping the next global wave.
Instead of always defaulting to ChatGPT or overseas platforms, try a few of these. Test them. See what fits. You might find they’re not only good — they’re more affordable, more contextual, and more relevant to your needs.
Use them not just because they’re Indian — but because they’re good. And by using them, we help them grow. That’s how India moves forward in tech — not by waiting for the next unicorn, but by backing what already works.
Shikha Kumari is an SEO, AEO, LEO — Organic Growth Expert with 7+ years of experience helping brands stay discoverable across platforms.
