After Sarvam AI and Upliance.ai, Khosla Ventures Backs Third Indian AI Startup

Vahan.ai, a Bangalore-based AI-powered platform specialising in recruiting blue-collar workers, has raised $10 million in Series B funding led by Khosla Ventures. The funding round, supported by Y Combinator and Gaingels LLC, will be used to enhance the startup’s AI technology and broaden language support to tap into India’s vast hiring pool, particularly in remote and smaller towns.

The funding, led by Silicon Valley billionaire Vinod Khosla’s venture capital firm, aims to position Vahan to capture a large share of India’s gig economy, which is expected to account for 70% of the country's job growth by 2030. The company, founded in 2016, already recruits 25,000 workers every month and has successfully placed over 500,000 workers across nearly 500 cities.

Vahan AI, founded in 2016 by Madhav Krishna, is an  recruitment platform based in Bangalore, India, that uses AI to simplify the hiring process for blue-collar and gig workers. The company’s core technology utilises AI-based chatbots and machine learning algorithms to automate high-volume hiring processes, conducting interviews in multiple languages and managing employee acquisition, onboarding, training, and retention. 

Vahan.ai’s platform, which serves clients such as Uber, Amazon, Swiggy, and Zomato, uses generative AI systems to streamline the hiring process. With natural language voice capabilities in Hindi and English, developed with partners like ElevenLabs, the AI recruiter simplifies onboarding by reducing barriers related to tech literacy. “The cost of running our tech is 3 cents per connected minute, half the cost of a human caller,” said Madhav Krishna, Vahan’s founder and CEO.

As the gig economy in India expands, Vahan.ai is also piloting AI-driven recruitment for electronics manufacturers, benefiting from the ongoing shift of production from China to India. The company’s focus on rapid hiring has positioned it as a crucial player in India’s booming gig economy, which, according to Nasscom, is expected to generate services valued at over $250 billion by 2032.