In A Country Of 800 Languages, Kolkata-Based Startup Mihup Proves You Don't Need English To Talk To Tech

In a country where over 90 per cent of the population isn't fluent in English, Mihup is breaking the language and literacy barrier by enabling people to talk to technology in their native languages. Mihup’s mission is that of inclusivity. Its focus is on empowering India’s diverse linguistic population with voice technology that understands accents, dialects, and colloquial speech, making digital access universal. Interestingly, it is founder’s rural background that inspired the vision, and a local language like Kalma Gudi (spoken in Cooch Behar) shaped the product roadmap. At a time when startups flock to Bengaluru, home-grown Mihup doubled down on its roots in Kolkata and succeeded. Underdog narrative of building deep-tech from Kolkata, landing major clients like Tata Motors, and replacing global giants like Nuance in voice applications.

It envisions a future without screens or keyboards. You can actually imagine controlling your car, AC, washing machine, or even filing a complaint, all by talking. Speaking to Bizz Buzz, Tapan Barman, Founder and CEO, Mihup, narrates the growth story of Mihup, how their embedded voicebot for automotive use has come in handy to Tata Motors and the future ahead

How and when did you begin your entrepreneurial journey?

Our entrepreneurial journey began in 2016, driven by a fundamental question: Why should technology assume that everyone is fluent in English or comfortable typing? In a country as linguistically diverse as India — with over 800 languages and countless dialects — that assumption excludes millions of users. We saw this as both a challenge and an opportunity. What if people could interact with technology using just their voice, in their own language and accent? That idea laid the foundation for Mihup. The name itself— “May I Help You Please”—captures our mission: to make technology more human, more accessible, and truly inclusive for all.

Had you always wanted to become an entrepreneur or was there any trigger?

Entrepreneurship wasn’t just a career option for me — it was a childhood dream. I was deeply inspired by Amitabh Bachchan and once imagined building a company like ABCL. That idea took root early and never really left me. After completing my engineering degree, I joined a public sector job. But from day one, I knew I didn’t belong there. The environment stifled independent thinking, and I constantly felt constrained. What truly fueled my journey was a vision — a society where every individual is empowered. That belief, along with finding the right partner in my friend & co-founder, Biplab Chakraborty, gave me the conviction I needed to take the leap into what we now proudly call Mihup.

How did the name Mihup come up?

The name 'Mihup' is actually an acronym for ‘May I Help You Please’. It reflects the core vision behind our company — to make technology more accessible, intuitive, and helpful for the billions of users who are trying to use technology but often struggle to harness its full potential. Our mission is to create seamless human-machine interactions by developing voice AI solutions that are accurate, easy to use, and economically viable. Our goal is to bridge the communication gap between humans and machines, creating experiences where technology naturally understands and responds to human needs. At the heart of everything we do is our vision for Mihup: to become the most trusted and accurate voice interface for the billions. The name 'Mihup' is more than just a phrase — it's a promise of empowerment through intelligent assistance.

What does Mihup do?

Mihup is an AI conversation intelligence platform enhancing human-machine interactions with applications that understand, enable, and empower conversations. Mihup Interaction Analytics analyses 100% of contact centre conversation and automates various conversation analysis workflows. This helps it accurately understand customer’s voice, comprehensively audit conversations for compliance, and optimize agent performance. The product delivers real business results by uncovering sales, service and retention opportunities from customer conversations happening in the contact centers. Mihup Agent Assist equips agents with the right knowledge and cues in real-time to accelerate resolutions. Mihup AVA is our multilingual voice assistant empowers human-like voice interactions for any industry with dedicated voice agents, solving the entire voice stack puzzle.

Why voice technology? What gap did you see?

Voice is the most natural and intuitive way for humans to interact, yet for a long time, it remained inaccessible to most Indians. Mainstream tech platforms were built with an English-first mindset — and even when voice was introduced, it wasn’t truly inclusive. These systems often struggled with Indian languages, regional dialects, and even the Indian accent. We saw a clear gap — global solutions weren’t designed to handle India’s linguistic diversity or the way people here actually speak. That’s where Mihup came in. Our goal was to make voice the new gateway to technology — one that understands not just what is being said, but how it’s being said. Mihup was built to ensure that people across India could simply speak in their own language, accent, or dialect — and be understood. It’s about making technology work for everyone, not just a select few.

How has been the journey so far, with all its turns and twists (if there were any?)

The journey so far has been both exciting and humbling. Like any meaningful pursuit, it has come with its share of twists and turns — moments of challenge, learning, and growth. Each phase has brought new insights, helping us evolve not just as a company, but also in how we approach problem-solving and innovation.

How did Nuances, Tata Motors deals happen?

The Tata Motors collaboration is one of the most defining chapters in Mihup’s journey. What began over four years ago as a shared ambition to solve the complex challenge of voice technology in India has grown into a deep, strategic partnership. At the time, voice tech was still emerging and tackling it in a linguistically diverse country like India made the problem even more nuanced. Tata Motors, known for being at the forefront of innovation, was actively exploring voice solutions that could genuinely enhance the in-car experience for Indian users. They saw potential in our technology early on — when we were still in our early stages — and took a bold step in partnering with us. That trust and belief played a crucial role in our evolution. Since then, we’ve worked closely together to bring natural language voice interfaces to millions of users. The partnership has matured, with both teams collaborating deeply on innovation, deployment, and continuous improvement. It’s more than just a commercial relationship — it’s a long-term alliance built on mutual respect and a shared commitment to delivering cutting-edge, user-first experiences.

How many Indian and international languages does Mihup support?

Mihup currently supports 10 Indian languages along with their mix with English (like Hinglish, Tamilish etc.)— a common way people communicate in India. On the international front, we support languages like UK English and Arabic, and we’re actively onboarding new Indian and global languages. What truly sets us apart is our proprietary tech stack — including our own LLMs, ASR engines, TTS systems, and advanced noise suppression capabilities. This gives us full control over how quickly and efficiently we can onboard new languages based on the specific needs of a domain or industry. It’s a scalable, adaptable approach that keeps us ahead in delivering localized voice solutions at speed.

Which sectors benefit most from your technology?

Companies need to understand customers better, enable conversations while navigating the hurdles of language barriers, digital divide and high volume of interactions. Our technology is making a significant impact across several sectors, with the strongest traction in Automotive & IoT industry for voice powered interfaces and for empowering and understanding customer conversations in contact centers across industries like BFSI, E-commerce, Travel & Hospitality etc.

How do you handle India’s diverse accents and dialects?

Handling India’s diverse accents and dialects is at the core of what makes Mihup unique. Instead of relying on rigid, language-based models, our system is built on phonetic imprints — focusing on sounds, modulations, and patterns of speech rather than just words. This allows us to accurately understand not only what is being said, but how it’s being said, including emotional tone and context. Mihup’s platform is designed to learn and adapt quickly. It starts with modal values and then converges to individual user preferences using a combination of personal and community-based (hive) learning. This ensures the system becomes more accurate over time, even with heavy regional variations in speech. What also sets us apart is our ability to work both online and offline, intelligently distributing learning based on usage patterns. This is critical in markets like India, where connectivity can vary greatly. Our approach helps us deliver a more inclusive, intuitive, and responsive voice experience — no matter the accent, dialect, or region.

What’s next for Mihup?

What’s next for Mihup is aligned with our broader vision — to become the OS for conversations. We’re building a world where voice-first interfaces replace typing as the primary mode of input, driving seamless man-machine communication across devices and platforms. As interactions become more conversational and context-driven, Mihup aims to power this shift with intelligent, bias-free voice technology at the core.