Binny Bansal to launch new global AI start-up after Flipkart

Bansal’s venture aims to provide AI talent, products, and services to corporates across the globe, similar to the model followed by IT providers such as TCS and Infosys, the sources told Bloomberg. The team has hired 15 people, mostly AI scientists, and plans to add more staff to roll out offerings within the next few months, they added.

Also Read: Walmart Pays $3.5 Billion to Hike Stake in Flipkart

Young population resource

The 40-year-old billionaire, who co-founded e-commerce major Flipkart and made a profit selling his stake to Walmart Inc., is looking to tap the country’s large English-speaking young population to train more experts for new AI services. 

The focus will be on “training talent and offering services” from smaller cities in India, the report said.

Bansal did not respond to queries, the report added.

However, one of the sources said that he plans to target the e-commerce and legal industries first. The next moves will likely be in the analytics, data science, and financial services sectors, they added.

Also Read: Flipkart and the Ballad of the Bansals

Details on the exact products were not available, but the launch is expected in the second half of 2024. 

Expansion Plans

The new venture will be based in Bengaluru, but headquartered in Singapore. Bansal moved to Singapore after the Flipkart sale and frequently travels between the two cities. Development on products is currently under “stealth mode” in Singapore, as per the sources. 

Expansion plans include entry into the US market too, as tools such as ChatGPT from Microsoft and OpenAI open up avenues for corporates to harness AI tech, sources added.

Flipkart, a success

Bansal co-founded Flipkart with fellow IIT-Delhi alum Sanchin Bansal, who he worked with at Amazon Inc. before quitting. They established Flipkart as a local alternative to the American online retail giant, six years before its entry into the Indian market. 

Binny Bansal was the CEO of Flipkart when he sold the entirety of his majority stake in the company to Walmart for $16 billion in 2018. He remains on the Flipkart board and has shares in PhonePe, Flipkart’s acquired digital payments service. He has more recently been in the news for investing in tech start-ups. 

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Updated: 07 Nov 2023, 07:43 AM IST

Originally appeared on: TheSpuzz