Article Complete
AIM
Meet India’s first humanoid Banker – Lakshmi
Meet India’s first humanoid Banker – Lakshmi

Meet India’s first humanoid Banker – Lakshmi

Published Updated

Key takeaways

  • Lakshmi is India's first humanoid banker, recently launched at City Union Bank in Chennai.
  • The AI-powered robot can engage in conversations on over 125 topics related to banking.
  • Lakshmi aims to alleviate the burden on staff by addressing frequently asked customer queries.
  • The introduction of Lakshmi reflects the growing trend of integrating AI in the banking sector.
5 min
[caption id="attachment_11338" align="alignnone" width="660"]Lakshmi Banking Robot India's first banking robot debuted recently at City Union Bank[/caption] There is a new robot in town and no, it’s not Pepper (the friendly, hands-on humanoid developed by Japan’s SoftBank) it’s Lakshmi. With a title like that, who can dispute its worthiness, especially in the banking sector? The friendly robot powered by Artificial Intelligence (AI) made its debut on the big stage recently at the City Union Bankbased in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. Currently set up in City Union Bank’s Chennai branch, the humanoid can reportedly chat with customers on more than 125 subjects, field queries on current interest rates on loans, account balance and transactional history. Reportedly, Lakshmi is the first-of-its-kind humanoid in India to be introduced by a bank to deal with a humongous amount of customer queries. According to N Kamakodi, Managing Director and CEO, City Union Bank, “The staff at the bank spends most of its time fielding around 120 basic questions, from account balance to home loan interest rates and account details. So, we have fed those inputs to the robot and it will be answer them accurately”. Next time you walk into CUB Chennai branch, be prepared to be surprised by this 2-feet humanoid installed in the bank lobby. AIM lists down some its best features:
  • First on-site bank helper in India
  • Can speak in English and gesture as well. It will soon be reprogrammed to speak in regional languages
  • Can talk out loud about the bank’s history, home loan interest rates, and schemes for students, deposit and lending rates and even details of fixed deposit closures
  • Sensitive information related to transactional history and account details will be displayed on the screen
Lakshmi is currently in its pilot phase and based on the customer response it gets, the bank plans to release around 25-30 robots in key branches in India.
Membership

Stay ahead with AI insights.

Unlimited access to premium articles, exclusive analysis, and the stories shaping India's AI economy.

Subscribe now

AIM Americas

1190 Miraloma Way Suite P, Sunnyvale, CA 94085

AIM India

1st Floor, Sakti Statesman, Bellandur, Bengaluru – 560103

© 2026 AIM. All rights reserved.