Latest news with #SarvamAI
Time of India
15 hours ago
- Business
- Time of India
Under fire, Sarvam AI co-founder says worries about Indic GenAI model premature
Chennai/Bengaluru: India's latest home-grown generative AI language model, Sarvam-M, has drawn fire from sections of the developer community for what they describe as "under-whelming" performance. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now But Pratyush Kumar, co-founder of Sarvam AI, insists the scepticism is premature and betrays a misunderstanding of how AI frontier models mature. "The ecosystem is early and people are worried too early," he tells TOI. "We are scrambling amongst ourselves when the world moves fast. We want to create an AI ecosystem where more people can positively collaborate." Released this month, the relatively small 24-billion-parameter Sarvam-M model was trained to reason across ten Indian languages while tackling maths and coding tasks. Kumar says benchmarks on Hugging Face (a platform and open-source library primarily used for leveraging machine learning models) show the model matching or outscoring popular open-source rivals (like Meta's Llama, Mistral Small and Gemma 3) in mathematics, programming and Indic-language comprehension. "With this we want to show that we cracked post-training (process of refining and optimising a machine learning model after its initial training phase) problems and our methodology is comparable with other models," he explains. "We open-sourced this because we want to show that such a model can be built and encourage other people to do it." Much of the social-media push-back has centred on relatively modest early-stage download numbers and the perception that Sarvam-M offers few breakthrough capabilities. Kumar counters that India's sovereign-AI ambitions demand more than one blockbuster release. "These things involve both scientific explorations and resource consumption," he says. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now "I think we are on the path to building state-of-the-art models. " Sarvam AI is the first startup chosen to build a frontier model under the government's IndiaAI Mission, which is funding compute, data and research partnerships to reduce reliance on overseas platforms. Although the latest model is a private effort separate from the IndiaAI Mission, Kumar says the initiative will benefit everyone. He declines to give a timeline for the AI Mission-backed foundation model, noting that the company has yet to receive graphics-processing units (GPUs) from government suppliers. "We will open-source the foundational model," he says, but warns that schedules depend on hardware access and collaborative research cycles. Industry weighs in Seasoned AI practitioners say early criticism overlooks the scale of what Sarvam is attempting. "Building a 24-billion-parameter model in India is not easy, especially when deep research isn't encouraged in most universities or companies," says Jaspreet Bindra, co-founder of consultancy AI&Beyond. "Sarvam-M demonstrates robust multilingual reasoning by supporting ten Indian languages – no other model in the world has such a strong Indic component. " Sourabh Deorah, CEO & co-founder of an AI-powered employee engagement and rewards platform, says that as someone deeply involved in machine learning, he understands how challenging it is to create a 24-bn parameter model that not only handles reasoning tasks like math and programming but also delivers high-quality performance across multiple Indian languages – many of which have long been underserved in the AI space. Piyush Goel, CEO & founder of IT consulting company Beyond Key, says that the new model's potential to drive agentic AI in education, healthcare, and automation is exciting. Agentic AI is a type of AI that makes decisions and takes actions based on context and objectives without constant human intervention. Karthikeyan G, senior director of engineering architecture at software company Ascendion, says Sarvam-M's architecture will enable AI agents to interact among themselves (to take complex decisions) thanks to the standardised protocols being used. This will be crucial for the next stage of the AI wave.
Time of India
2 days ago
- Business
- Time of India
Government selects 3 more teams for foundation models of AI
Representative image NEW DELHI: India is broadening its efforts to develop AI foundation models. After Sarvam AI, the government on Friday selected three more teams - Soket AI, Gan AI, and Gnani AI - for building indigenous AI models. IT and electronics minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said the country has 367 data sets loaded on AI Kosh. "So the app ecosystem is also now developing. In a sense, the entire ecosystem is now getting built." Govt has also announced the availability of 16,000 more GPUs, which would take the compute facility available to startups and researchers to 34,000. Vaishnaw said significant progress was made on the India AI Mission, with a focus on the "democratisation of technology". The compute facility, supercharged with 34,000 GPUs, will enable India to develop the AI ecosystem in a big way. "I would like to make some mention about the three teams that were selected today. Like Sarvam, these three teams also have a very big target ahead of them. Whichever sector they focus on, they must be among the top five in the world," Vaishnaw said. Stay informed with the latest business news, updates on bank holidays and public holidays . AI Masterclass for Students. Upskill Young Ones Today!– Join Now
Deccan Herald
3 days ago
- Business
- Deccan Herald
AI chatbot for disability support unveiled
A National Disability Support AI Chatbot was also launched at the event. Developed with NAB Delhi and Sarvam AI, the voice- and WhatsApp-based chatbot provides access to over 250 government and non-profit schemes.
Hans India
3 days ago
- Business
- Hans India
Common compute capacity surpasses 34,000 GPUs in India: Ashwini Vaishnaw
New Delhi: India's national compute capacity has crossed 34,000 GPUs, the government said on Friday, adding that three new startups have been selected to build AI foundation models. Union Minister for Electronics and IT, Ashwini Vaishnaw, said that 367 datasets have already been uploaded to 'AI Kosh'. The minister also underlined IndiaAI Mission's role in fostering reverse brain drain and creating a comprehensive ecosystem encompassing foundational models, compute capacity, safety standards, and talent development initiatives. He emphasised that these efforts are aimed at building a complete and inclusive AI ecosystem in India. The 'IndiaAI Foundation Model' pillar within the India AI Mission aims to develop and deploy indigenous foundational models trained on India-specific data. Till April 30, 506 proposals have been received. On April 26, Sarvam AI was selected to build India's sovereign large language model (LLM) ecosystem, developing an open-source 120 billion parameter AI model to enhance governance and public service access through use cases like "2047: Citizen Connect" and "AI4Pragati". This follows the earlier launch of the Sarvam-1 model (2 billion parameters) and the Sarvam-M (24B parameters) model with hybrid reasoning capabilities. Vaishnaw urged the newly selected teams under the IndiaAI Mission to aim for a top-five global position in their respective sectors. Soket AI will develop India's first open-source 120 billion parameter foundation model optimised for the country's linguistic diversity, targeting sectors such as defence, healthcare, and education. Gnani AI will build a 14 billion parameter Voice AI foundation model delivering multilingual, real-time speech processing with advanced reasoning capabilities, while Gan AI will create a 70 billion parameter multilingual foundation model targeting "Superhuman TTS (text-to-speech)" capabilities to surpass current global leaders. Emphasising Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision of democratisation of technology, Vaishnaw said, 'Technology should not be left in the hands of a few. It's very important that a larger section of society should be able to access technology, develop new solutions and get better opportunities.'
Mint
3 days ago
- Business
- Mint
Boom in AI fuels a flurry of startups
New Delhi: There's a scramble to register artificial intelligence (AI) focused companies, as India's public and private sectors embrace the technology that's transforming industries worldwide. Company registration data shows that 100-200 new AI-centric businesses take birth every month as tech entrepreneurs venture into health, agriculture, cloud, and robotics, powering the country's robust service sector. In April alone, 226 AI-focused businesses were incorporated, a jump from 86 a year earlier, data from the ministry of corporate affairs showed. That again was a big jump from a small base in the year before. Most of the new ventures in April were companies, while more than two dozen were limited liability partnerships (LLPs). April surge In the first three months of 2025, AI-focused business registrations steadily rose from 124 to 203, data showed. Many of these businesses feature 'AI' prominently in their names, as well as others like health, farm, cloud, robotics etc. Experts say India's combination of technology and software talent, moderating computing costs and innovation in solving social and business challenges are driving entrepreneurship in the AI space. Availability of free versions of large language models such as ChatGPT, wide usage of smartphones and low internet cost are aiding in AI's wider use. Also read | Whatfix expects AI products to contribute 20% of revenue by end of 2026 as it gears up for IPO India's AI startup wave is being shaped by an emerging coalition of seasoned professionals and heavyweight investors, said Rohit Pandharkar, technology consulting partner,EYIndia. Angel investors 'It's no longer just venture capital firms like Lightspeed, Peak XV, and Pi Ventures writing early cheques, but ex-founders and product leaders from Flipkart, Freshworks and Google India are also stepping in as angel investors, validating ideas and syndicating deals upstream. Sarvam AI's $41 million raise, backed by Lightspeed, Khosla Ventures, and Peak XV, is a case in point," said Pandharkar, referring to the transaction announced in 2023. Lightspeed Management Co., LLC on its website lists over 75 Indian companies it has invested in including Zepto, Razorpay and Sarvam AI, a generative AI start-up. Read this | Mint Primer: Dr AI is here, but will the human touch go away? "This blend of hands-on expertise and institutional capital is collapsing the funding cycle and helping technical founders commercialize faster," Pandharkar said. 'It's a smarter model, and one that's uniquely suited to India's AI ambitions." Extensive adoption AI is getting a boost given its extensive adoption by private and government sectors. The Income Tax Department and the Ministry of Corporate Affairs' compliance filing portal MCA21 deploy AI and data analytics for ensuring greater compliance. Businesses are using AI-driven chatbots to track orders and tackle customer grievances, replacing humans. The Digi Yatra initiative of the civil aviation ministry which makes navigation in airports easier, also uses AI for passenger identification. Generative AI is not just another technological cycle but a generational shift, N. Chandrasekaran, chairman of Tata Sons Ltd, wrote to shareholders of Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), India's largest IT services company in its latest annual report. TCS is planning to create a large pool of AI agents to work alongside humans and deliver solutions. Read this | Sundar Pichai to Mint: Pro-competitive AI, powered by deep research, is Google's path forward Meanwhile, the government has stepped up with the $1.25 billion IndiaAI Mission approved in March 2024, aiming to establish the nation as a global leader in the field. This comprehensive initiative rests on seven pillars, including building compute infrastructure, fostering future skills, financing startups, promoting innovation centres, creating data platforms, developing applications, and ensuring safe and trusted AI. AI offers multiple entrepreneurship opportunities which include building applications or utilities and offering consulting services, said Kashyap Kompella, AI analyst and founder of tech consultancy RPA2AI, which has offices in Bangalore, London, Boston and in Washington DC. 'As Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI has boldly articulated, AI may make it possible for a one-person company to become a billion-dollar unicorn. In that sense, AI offers great opportunities and growth potential. AI has certainly lowered the entry barrier for entrepreneurship by reducing the resource requirement for starting a business. However, competition in this sector is as intense as in the rest of the technology focused industries which will determine the success rate of businesses," explained Kashyap Kompella. But is a bubble forming? Pandharkar of EY said the broader investment landscape shows rising capital flows and expanding interest across verticals and yet, there are signs of caution. 'Investors are shifting from hype to fundamentals. Rather than a clear bubble, the market appears to be in a maturation phase where investors are becoming more selective, focusing on companies with viable business models generating revenue and proven use cases than speculative AI applications," he said. 'The divergence between the rapid growth in startup numbers and the more modest growth in funding suggests a market that is rationalizing even as it expands. Capital is plentiful but more selective than 2021 highs, so any correction in 2025-26 is likely to be a healthy deflation rather than a bubble burst," said Pandharkar. Multilingual India-specific large language models, public-sector adoption of AI, security analysis and software development assistance keep long-term value creation intact, he said. And read | End of FOMO: Venture capital firms turn cautious over AI startup hype; demand models with clear returns and impact Company incorporation data broadly show that two out of three companies registered survive in the long-term. AI has emerged as a core driver of India's transformation as a global digital powerhouse, the Cellular Operators Association of India said in a report it brought out with KPMG last year.
