Hunar.AI | ~₹40 Cr (Series A)

Bengaluru-based Hunar.AI has raised Rs 40 crore (about $4.2 million) in a Series A round led by Blume Ventures, to expand its conversational AI agents for hiring and managing frontline workers.

The round

Inc42 reported the Series A at Rs 40 crore, led by Blume Ventures. Together Fund, Seedstars, AVNM Ventures and Hyderabad Angels Fund participated, along with angel investors including PhysicsWallah co-founders Prateek Maheshwari and Alakh Pandey and MediaMint co-founder Aditya Vuchi. Reports based on filings data put the amount at Rs 39.3 crore, and note Blume contributed Rs 29 crore. The round takes total funding to Rs 65 crore, according to coverage in Entrepreneur India.

Hunar.AI plans to use the money to strengthen its AI infrastructure, develop products and expand go-to-market efforts, Inc42 said. Entrackr estimated the post-round valuation at about Rs 180 crore, up from Rs 105 crore at the Pre-Series A stage; that is an estimate, not a figure confirmed by the company.

What Hunar.AI does

Founded in 2022 by Krishna Khandelwal (CEO) and Shantanu Bhattacharyya, Hunar.AI builds AI agents that automate hiring, onboarding, training and retention for frontline workforces. Its voice AI supports more than 20 languages, including Tamil, Telugu and Kannada, and its agents work across voice calls, WhatsApp and chat. Products include Hunar Voice and Hunar Connect.

Inc42 lists customers including Swiggy, Zepto, Aditya Birla Capital, Bajaj Finserv, Croma, Dr Lal PathLabs, 1mg and Starbucks. The company says its agents have handled more than 1.5 crore conversations through September 2026, with volumes doubling quarter on quarter.

Financially, reports citing filings say operating revenue for FY25 was Rs 1.70 crore, up from Rs 47 lakh in FY24, while losses widened to Rs 5.56 crore. The company attributes the higher losses to spending on AI infrastructure, product development and market expansion.

The investors

Blume Ventures leads the round. Available coverage does not describe Blume's wider portfolio in this space. Together Fund, Seedstars, AVNM Ventures and Hyderabad Angels Fund also participated; reports note that haf.vc, the Hyderabad-based angel network, separately announced a Rs 3 crore investment.

Why it matters

Frontline-heavy employers hire at volume across many locations and languages, which is the problem Hunar.AI says its agents address. The revenue base is still small compared with the funding raised, and conversation volume is the company's own metric. The round gives the company more runway to turn that usage into revenue. See also AI funding news.