Ratan Tata invests in AI start-up niki.ai

Ratan Tata, Chairman Emeritus of Tata Sons, has invested an undisclosed amount in niki.ai, an artificial intelligence-based chatbot, according to a company statement. A chatbot is a computer programme designed to simulate the conversation or ‘chatter’ of a human beings, especially over the the Internet. UTV Founder Ronnie Screwvala’s venture capital firm Unilazer Ventures, an investor in niki.ai, also participated in this round of funding. Founded last April by four IIT Kharagpur alumni - Sachin Jaiswal, Keshav Prawasi, Nitin Babel and Shishir Modi- niki.ai said it uses technologies such as natural language processing and machine learning to converse with the customers over a simple chat interface. It then places their orders within seconds with the partner businesses. For instance, chatbot offers services such as bill payments, cab booking, recharge, food ordering and cricket scores, according to the company.