Mukesh Bansal's AI Startup Nurix AI Secures $27.5 Million in Funding

Mukesh Bansal's new startup Nurix AI raises $27.5 million from Accel, General Catalyst

The new company, Nurix AI, which builds custom AI agents for enterprise services like sales and customer support in initial use cases, was incubated in Bansal's startup incubator Meraki Labs and now has about 20 people in the team.Mukesh Bansal, founder of Myntra, Cultfit and former president of Tata Digital, has started a new artificial intelligence venture for which he has raised $27.5 million in one of the largest seed rounds from Accel and Silicon Valley fund General Catalyst. The new company, Nurix AI, which builds custom AI agents for enterprise services like sales and customer support in initial use cases, was incubated in Bansal's startup incubator Meraki Labs and now has about 20 people in the team. Nurix AI has worked with five firms with its proprietary human-like voice and reasoning capabilities and that has led to 25-50% improvement in efficiency and cost, Bansal told ET. He didn't name the firms that have deployed Nurix AI, but said these are in the financial services sector. Meraki Labs -- through which Bansal owns his stake in Nurix -- has also invested in this funding round. Previously, he has backed companies like wealth management firm Groww and spacetech startup Skyroot Aerospace and fashion brand Virgio. "We feel India has a very strong services advantage and the nature of AI today is such that it will require a lot of customisation," he said. The company is looking for AI-startup acquisitions in the US, he said, adding: "That's why we have also raised such a large seed round." Bansal said AI will significantly transform the way work is done in enterprises over the next four to five years. The focus is on building a top-tier AI team in India, leveraging the country's strong services advantage in the technology sector, he said. "It's almost like Y2K days or Cloud adoption 10 years ago." Nurix AI is being launched at a time when AI agents are being deployed across industries to perform specific tasks with least amount of human intervention, reducing cost and increasing efficiency. The ownership structure of the startup is divided among three parties: investors, founding team members and employees. Meraki Labs also incubated omnichannel fashion startup Lyskraft which is run by former Zomato executive Mohit Gupta. Bansal is on the Lyskraft board but doesn't have a day-to-day operating role similar to Cultfit, which is preparing for an initial public offering. "We need to establish a US presence as well. We are looking for acquisitions which can help turbocharge our operations there. Anything that helps in that direction, we will be super keen on that," Bansal said on plans to use the proceeds from the new funding. Subrata Mitra, partner at Accel, said AI is one of the most transformative technologies."Nurix AI is addressing the critical challenges enterprises face in adopting AI at scale -- namely, the integration of customised AI solutions with existing workflows, while balancing the precision of AI with the empathy of human oversight. India has become the world's services destination, and with the advent of GenAI, that trend is set to accelerate even further," Mitra said. "Enterprises need partners who deliver production-grade, customised AI solutions that are tailored to their unique needs," said Deep Nishar, partner, General Catalyst. "We believe that Nurix's focus on practical, scalable implementations, combined with its entrepreneurial team's proven track record, makes Nurix an essential partner for companies looking to harness the true power of AI."

Mukesh Bansal's Latest AI Startup Raises $27.5 Million from General Catalyst, Accel

Nurix AI specialises in building custom AI agents for enterprises, focusing on solutions such as AI-driven customer service with human oversight for call centers and outbound sales. Nurix AI, the latest startup founded by Mukesh Bansal, announced on September 24, 2024, that it secured $27.5 million in seed and Series A funding. The financing round was co-led by General Catalyst and Accel, with participation from Bansal's venture studio, Meraki Labs. Nurix AI specialises in building custom AI agents for enterprises, focusing on solutions such as AI-driven customer service with human oversight for call centers and outbound sales. The startup integrates large language models, including those from OpenAI, Google, Meta, and Anthropic, into its offerings. In addition, it is developing its own voice AI models to support regional languages for the Indian market. Bansal said that AI solutions for enterprises require significant integration with existing processes, along with customisations to address challenges such as AI 'hallucination' and security concerns. The company's custom AI agents are designed to fit within enterprise workflows, with the potential to improve efficiency by 30-50 percent, based on initial pilots with fintech and retail firms. Nurix AI was incubated by Meraki Labs, which co-builds companies with entrepreneurs, providing funding and operational guidance. Bansal will serve as CEO until the company finds a permanent leader, overseeing day-to-day operations. The funds raised will be used to scale operations, expand research and development,and cater to growing demand in Asia and North America. The OND (October-November-December) quarter of 2024 will mark the company's first revenue-generating period. General Catalyst and Accel, longtime backers of Bansal's previous ventures, underscored the significance of Nurix AI's solutions in helping enterprises adopt AI at scale, balancing technology with human oversight. Nurix AI joins a competitive landscape that includes global tech giants like Google and domestic players such as Haptik and Gupshup.

Nurix AI raises $27.5 mn in funding round led by Accel, General Catalyst

Nurix AI, a startup that builds artificial intelligence solutions for companies, has raised $27.5 million in a Series A funding round led by Accel and General Catalyst. Nurix aims to reinvent workflows and customer interactions through "AI-led, human-augmented solutions", said a statement. Founded this year, the startup helps enterprises in integrating generative AI (GenAI) and solves issues related to system compatibility and data management. Click here to connect with us on WhatsApp By building custom AI agents equipped with human-like voice and reasoning capabilities, the company intends to streamline operations while maintaining personalised, scalable customer interactions, said the statement. "AI is at the inflection point with the promise of completely transforming how work happens in the enterprise," said Mukesh Bansal, founder and chief executive officer of Nurix AI. "India has deep AI talent to be at the forefront of this transformation and we are super excited to build India's leading AI team to drive this charter," said Bansal, who previously founded Myntra and Cult.fit. Nurix AI is the latest company to be funded by Bansal's Meraki Labs, a startup incubator. Nurix collaborates with entrepreneurs to create companies "from the ground up", offering seed funding between $250,000 and $5 million. More From This Section Optimistic Capital launches India's first microbrewery-focused fund Visa processing platform Atlys raises $20 million in Series B funding Premium Meet Bharat Semi, startup behind Indo-US semiconductor fab partnership DPIIT refers complaint against quick e-commerce players to CCI: Report Capital A launches Rs 400 cr fund to target manufacturing, climate startups Nurix will use the investment on technology and operations to meet the growing demand for custom AI solutions in Asia and North America, said the statement. This includes enhancing R&D and strengthening partnerships with AI hardware and product companies. "India has become the world's services destination, and with the advent of GenAI, that trend is set to accelerate even further," said Subrata Mitra, partner, Accel. Nurix's first offering will target the business process outsourcing industry, combining AI efficiency with human oversight to provide reliable customer service at scale. Also Read Oister Global, Tribe Capital partner to launch $500 million fund Premium Startups tackle loneliness with services for friendships and companionship Softbank-backed InMobi raises $100 mn via debt financing agreement Origin starts Bengaluru operations, plans to raise $10 million funding Premium Unicorn India Ventures eyes a new chapter, aims to be a cross-border fund

Mukesh Bansal's AI Venture Nets $27.5 Mn From Accel, General Catalyst, Others

Nurix AI, a venture floated by Myntra and Cultfit founder Mukesh Bansal, has secured $27.5 Mn (around INR 230 Cr) in a seed funding round from Accel and General Catalyst. Bansal-owned Meraki Labs also participated in the round. The company said in a statement that this investment will be channelled towards expanding Nurix AI's technological base and scaling its operations to meet the increasing demand for customised AI solutions in Asia and Northern America. This includes enhancing its research and development capabilities and establishing a more pronounced market presence, with a focus on fostering long-term partnerships with AI hardware and product companies. "AI is at the inflection point with the promise of completely transforming how work happens in the enterprise. At Nurix, we envision a future where AI agents, guided by human expertise, handle a significant portion of tasks, driving unprecedented gains in productivity and quality," said Bansal. Founded in 2024, Nurix AI offers enterprise customer engagement services through its artificial intelligence tools such as custom virtual assistants to boost productivity and AI agent for automated workflow. Nurix AI was formed in Bansal's startup incubator Meraki Labs and now has over 15 people in the team, as per the company's LinkedIn data Bansal also said, "India has deep AI talent to be at the forefront of this transformation and we are super excited to build India's leading AI team to drive this charter." His notable investments include digital trading platform Groww and spacetech startup Skyroot Aerospace and clothing line Virgio. The introduction of Nurix AI comes at a time when AI has proved to become the key to solve every problem in the market across sectors. Based on Inc42's recent data, favoured by the advent of AI, the Indian seed-stage startup funding received a booster shot, catapulting it 23% YoY to $589 Mn across 229 deals in H1 2024.

Nurix AI raises $27.5M to scale development of custom enterprise AI agents - SiliconANGLE

Nurix AI raises $27.5M to scale development of custom enterprise AI agents Bengaluru, India-based Nurix AI, the developer of custom artificial intelligence agents for enterprise customers, today announced it raised $27.5 million in seed-Series A funding co-led by General Catalyst and Accel with participation from Merkai Labs. Founded in early 2024, Nurix builds custom AI agents that can execute complex actions on behalf of employees and customers using a company's tools and systems. Its platform can access enterprise data allowing for real-time responses and uses proprietary voice technology that helps enhance both customer and employee experiences. "AI is at the inflection point with the promise of completely transforming how work happens in the enterprise," Mukesh Bansal, founder and chief executive of Nurix AI, said. "At Nurix, we envision a future where AI agents, guided by human expertise, handle a significant portion of tasks, driving unprecedented gains in productivity and quality." AI agents have gained popularity in recent months as an important enterprise solution for business and customer workflows using generative AI to perform chains of tasks in the place of human agents. They can work over channels such as text as chatbots or voice by understanding natural conversational language and providing real-time support for multiple use cases. In cases where an agent cannot support a customer, it can always pass them along to a human operator to complete a task. Examples include reducing wait times for customer service where a person calls into a contact center to resolve an issue, such as asking a question or making a return. With a voice agent or a chatbot, a user could get an instant answer to most questions or have a return processed by an AI voice agent that could walk them through most procedures, including finding them a replacement, verifying their address, cross-ship their item and send the new one, all without needing a human. The AI agent market is expected to grow from $5.1 billion this year to $47.1 billion by 2030, according to a report from market analysis firm MarketsAndMarkets. The growing use of "build your own agent" solutions, of which Nurix is one, and the improvement of generative AI capabilities that understand conversational speech have driven the rapid growth of the market for custom enterprise agents. Nurix also provides agentic assistants with Agent Assist, which gives generative AI capabilities to employees that are tailored to provide AI-enhanced productivity for a multitude of enterprise and knowledge worker roles. Using AI, the agents can assist with sending reminders, suggesting documents, personalizing responses to emails and chats, and assisting with decision-making by understanding the larger business context. Agents are also capable of automating complex rote tasks, which allows teams to spend time on more creative and strategic work. Such mundane tasks could be things such as compiling reports or going through notes to draw out important quotes from meetings, summarizing large documents to pull out important insights, automating software updates, assisting with onboarding new members to projects and more. "AI is fundamentally reshaping enterprises, and the shift is happening rapidly. Enterprises need partners who deliver production-grade, customized AI solutions that are tailored to their unique needs," said Deep Nishar, partner at General Catalyst. "We believe that Nurix's focus on practical, scalable implementations, combined with its entrepreneurial team's proven track record, makes Nurix an essential partner for companies looking to harness the true power of AI." According to Nurix, the company focused on building its platform with disparate systems and data types in mind. So, it can maintain consistent and accurate responses with numerous cloud and different operating systems. To fuel its growth, the company said it will allocate the new funding to scale operations across Asia and North America, strengthen its research and development capabilities and forge strategic alliances within the industry with AI hardware and product makers.