Indian AI startup makes European breakthrough with BharatGPT Mini launch

Time of India

2 days ago

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India's artificial intelligence sector achieved a significant milestone last month as CoRover , the country's leading conversational AI company, successfully launched BharatGPT Mini at Europe's premier technology conference VivaTech 2025 in Paris and quickly secured its first commercial partnership with a French business school The breakthrough came when Ecole des Ponts Business School in Paris signed a deal with CoRover to deploy the multilingual AI system for student services, marking the first European commercial adoption of the Indian-developed technology. The partnership will see the school use BharatGPT Mini to assist prospective students with resume reviews, program selection, and admissions guidance.The lightweight model supports 14 Indian languages alongside major international languages and accepts multiple input formats including voice, text, and video. Its privacy-first architecture means sensitive data remains on users' devices rather than being transmitted to external servers."In a world grappling with ballooning cloud costs and growing data privacy concerns, BharatGPT Mini offers a timely alternative," the company stated while announcing the technology.BharatGPT Mini distinguishes itself in an increasingly crowded AI market through its focus on efficiency and accessibility. Unlike resource-intensive large language models that require constant internet connectivity and significant computing power, CoRover's solution operates offline and on-device, addressing growing concerns about cloud computing costs and data privacy.CoRover's Paris success is part of a broader Indian government initiative to establish the country as a global AI innovator rather than merely a consumer of foreign technology. The company was among 10 startups participating in the Station F-HEC International LaunchPad program, supported by India's Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology and facilitated by the Indian Embassy in Paris.Ankush Sabharwal, CoRover's founder and CEO, framed the Ecole des Ponts partnership as reflecting the diplomatic relationship between India and France. "Inspired by the shared vision of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Emmanuel Macron, this collaboration reflects how India and France can jointly shape the future of responsible AI," he said.Union Minister of State Jitin Prasada, who unveiled the technology at VivaTech in Paris, highlighted its potential for digital inclusion . "This AI model works even without the internet, in 14 Indian languages," Prasada said at the launch ceremony. "Imagine citizens accessing healthcare, banking, or governance services just by speaking in their language - no apps, no typing. This is digital empowerment at scale."The launch ceremony was attended by senior Indian officials including Abhishek Singh, Additional Secretary at the Ministry of Electronics and IT and CEO of IndiaAI, along with Sanjeev Singla, India's Ambassador to France and Monaco.Early market indicators suggest strong appetite for CoRover's approach. The company reports enterprise interest has risen 60-70 per cent, while small business adoption is projected to increase fivefold in fiscal year 2026.Hina Wadhwa, Director of Marketing and Admissions at Ecole des Ponts Business School, praised the technology's potential impact. "CoRover's GenAI solution will completely transform how we engage with future students. This partnership sets a powerful example for Indo-French cooperation in AI."The success of BharatGPT Mini represents a strategic shift for India's technology sector, moving beyond software services to compete in cutting-edge AI development. With more than 25,000 clients globally and over one billion users, CoRover is positioning itself as a champion of what it calls "AI sovereignty" - the principle that nations should develop indigenous AI capabilities rather than depend entirely on foreign platforms.The company's no-code/low-code development platform, CoRoverBuilder, aims to democratize AI creation, allowing businesses to build conversational AI applications without extensive technical expertise.As global attention increasingly focuses on the concentration of AI development in a few major technology companies, India's emergence as a creator of alternative, privacy-focused AI solutions may signal a broader shift in the industry's geographic and technological landscape.