India’s Sarvam wants to bring its AI models to smartphones, cars and smart glasses

Indian company AI Sarvam is planning to introduce its own new types of AI to users by sending them to Nokia phones, cars and its smart glasses.

The company, backed by the likes of Lightspeed, PeakXV, and Khosla Venturesit said at the ongoing India AI Impact Summit in New Delhi that it uses edge models that take up only megabytes of space, can run on most phones with existing processors, and can work offline.

The company is partnering with HMD to bring an AI assistant to Nokia and HMD phones. A video clip showed a user pressing a dedicated AI button on a smartphone to speak to an AI assistant in the local language to receive guidance on government procedures or local markets. It is not clear whether all of the AI ​​shown at the event will work online.

“Through edge AI, we want to bring intelligence to every phone, laptop, car, and even new devices,” said Tushar Goswamy, head of Edge AI at Sarvam.

He added that the company had worked with Qualcomm to update its latest chipsets. Sarvam did not provide details on which devices the models will be shipped with. Qualcomm said it is developing a “Sovereign AI Experience Suite” that will work on a variety of devices, including smartphones, PCs, laptops, cars, and IoT devices.

“Our partnership with Qualcomm Technologies can accelerate how we take autonomous AI from research to deployment,” Sarvam co-founder and CEO Vivek Raghwan said in a statement.

“This will allow Sarvam to create models and applications that approach the edge, protect data, and are ready to be adopted, at scale.”

Sarvam also said it is working with German engineering giant Bosch to bring AI assistants to cars, although he did not elaborate.

The startup also showcased AI smart glasses, called Sarvam Kaze, designed and manufactured in India. The company’s co-founder, Pratyush Kumar, said the glasses are a “builder’s device” and will be available in May.

Sarvam has been active in the business market, offering its voice-based models for use as customer support. The new models and partnerships show that the company is changing its focus on consumer applications.