India’s Sarvam launches chat app Indus AI as competition heats up | TechCrunch

Sarvaman Indian AI startup focused on building models for local languages ​​and users, launched its Indus chat app for web and mobile users on Friday, entering a rapidly growing market dominated by global players such as OpenAI, Anthropic and Google.

The launch comes as India has emerged as a key battleground for the adoption of generative AI. Recently, Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, said: ChatGPT has over 100 million weekly active users in India, while Anthropic said India accounts for 5.8% of total Claude usagejust behind the United States

Indus serves as the chat interface for its recently announced Sarvam 105B model, the company’s large 105 billion parameter language model. The launch of the app comes two days after Bengaluru-based Sarvam. revealed its 105B and 30B models India AI Impact Summit in New Delhi earlier this week. At the summit, the startup also presented corporate initiatives and hardware plans and announced partnerships with companies. including HMD to bring AI to Nokia feature phones and Bosch for AI-based automotive applications.

Currently available in beta on iOS, Androidand the the canvasthe Indus app allows users to type or speak queries and receive responses in text and audio. Users can log in using their phone number, Google account or Apple ID, although the service appears to be limited to India for now.

The application currently has some limitations. Users cannot delete their chat history without deleting their account, and there is no option to turn off the app’s reasoning feature, which can sometimes slow response times. Sarvam also warned that access could be restricted as it gradually expands its computing capacity.

“We are gradually rolling out Indus on limited compute capacity, so you might find yourself on a waitlist at first. We will expand access over time,” Pratyush Kumar, co-founder of Sarvam. wrote on X, adding that the company is seeking user feedback.

Founded in 2023, Sarvam has raised $41 million to date with investors, including Lightspeed Venture Partners, Peak XV Partners and Khosla Ventures, in the creation of large language models adapted to India.

Sarvam is part of a small but growing group of Indian startups trying to create domestic alternatives to global artificial intelligence platforms, as India seeks greater control of its AI infrastructure.

View biography