While attending the Bloomberg New Economy Forum in New Delhi, founder Keshav Reddy said Equal AI has drawn "early interest" for a growth-stage raise. The conversations are centered around a $750 million to $1 billion valuation, contingent on the company meeting its milestones by March. The automated call screening app has not shared its present valuation.
Reddy, a scion of the GVK Group spanning airports to life sciences, said Equal AI is moving into AI messaging. If new funding lands, most of it would be directed to AI infrastructure and user acquisition, with the balance going to product development and hiring. To date, the company has secured more than $42 million through two rounds led by Prosus Ventures.
That still trails Truecaller, which counts over 500 million users worldwide, the majority in India, but it shows intent. The company is leaning into Prime Minister Narendra Modi's push for homegrown technology, betting on India's engineering depth and sheer scale of demand. Also worth watching: India has asked telecom carriers to start rolling out caller-name display from Nov. 1, a change that could influence how these services compete.
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AI's worldwide expansion has drawn capital totaling hundreds of billions of dollars, along with a surge of new startups. The mood has cooled, though, with warnings about a bubble and questions over massive capex and lofty valuations. For AI-focused players like Equal AI, any slowdown could tighten funding, which in turn shapes how fast they can build, hire, and scale. If it clears its March milestones and lands a deal near the discussed range, expect faster product cycles and a louder growth push.
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