Ola’s Krutrim AI Assistant Kruti Inaccessible Across Web and App Stores

Why It Matters

Kruti’s disappearance signals a setback for Ola’s AI ambitions and raises investor concerns about the company’s ability to deliver on costly AI projects while its core units struggle. The outage could erode user trust and cede market share to rivals in India’s fast‑growing conversational‑AI space.

Key Takeaways

• Kruti AI removed from app stores, web unavailable
• No official comment from Ola or Krutrim on outage
• Krutrim 3 development stalled amid leadership churn
• Over 150 employees laid off from Krutrim last year
• AI setbacks echo struggles in Ola’s ride‑hailing and electric units

Pulse Analysis

When Ola unveiled Kruti in 2025, it positioned the agentic AI assistant as a one‑stop digital concierge for its ride‑hailing ecosystem. Powered by the in‑house Krutrim V2 model—a 12‑billion‑parameter neural network—Kruti could book cabs, settle bills and order food without human intervention. The launch signaled Ola’s intent to compete with global AI‑driven platforms such as Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa, while also showcasing India’s growing capacity to build large‑scale language models. Analysts estimate India's conversational AI market could exceed $5 billion by 2028, making early mover advantage crucial.

In mid‑April 2026 the Kruti service vanished from both Google Play and Apple’s App Store, and its website now displays a maintenance banner. No press release or social‑media update clarified the cause, leaving millions of Ola users without the promised AI‑powered ordering flow. Customers reported failed cab bookings and unpaid bills, prompting complaints on social forums. Simultaneously, internal sources report that development of the next‑generation Krutrim 3 model—intended to exceed the current 12‑billion‑parameter baseline—has stalled, a setback compounded by recent leadership turnover and a two‑phase layoff of more than 150 engineers.

The abrupt outage underscores the fragility of Ola’s broader AI roadmap and raises questions about resource allocation across its diversified portfolio. Investors are likely to scrutinize whether the company can sustain costly AI research while its core ride‑hailing and electric‑vehicle units battle declining market share and valuation. If Kruti’s revival is delayed, competitors such as Uber’s AI initiatives or domestic players like Reliance’s JioChat may capture the nascent Indian conversational‑AI market, pressuring Ola to reassess its multi‑sector growth strategy. A transparent roadmap and phased rollout could restore confidence, while partnerships with cloud providers may accelerate model training.