July 7 (Reuters) - AI4Bharat, a start-up backed by Microsoft (MSFT.O), is raising $12 million from venture capital firms Peak XV and Lightspeed Venture to develop artificial intelligence-powered chatbots for Indian languages, according to three people familiar with the matter.
Most seed rounds are usually up to $1 million to $2 million.
AI4Bharat, Peak XV and Lightspeed did not immediately respond to Reuters' requests for comment.
The investment is among the first from Peak XV Partners after rebranding from Sequoia Capital India and SEA following a split with its U.S.-based parent fund last month.
Indian AI start-ups have raised $583 million this year, as of June, according to data from Venture Intelligence.
Persons:
OpenAI's ChatGPT, Nandan Nilekani, Rudder, Yuvraj Malik
Organizations:
Microsoft, Lightspeed Venture, Indian Institute of Technology, Infosys, National Payments Corp, XV Partners, Sequoia Capital, SEA, Venture Intelligence, Thomson
Locations:
Madras, India, Sequoia Capital India, Bengaluru