India’s Sarvam has launched Indus AI social media as competition grows

SarvamIndia’s AI startup focused on local language infrastructure and users, on Friday launched its Indus chat app for web and mobile users, entering a fast-growing market dominated by global players including OpenAI, Anthropic, and Google.

The launch comes as India has become an important battleground for AI adoption. Recently, CEO of OpenAI Sam Altman said ChatGPT has over 100 million weekly users in India, where Anthropic said India accounts for 5.8% of Claude’s consumptionsecond after the US

Indus serves as the communication platform for its new Sarvam 105B model, the company’s flagship language model of 105 billion. The launch of the app comes two days after Bengaluru-based Sarvam uncovered its models 105B and 30B on India AI Impact Summit in New Delhi earlier this week. At the meeting, the founders explained their business principles and hardware plans and announced collaborations with companies. including HMD to bring AI to Nokia phones and Bosch for AI-driven cars.

Available in beta on iOS, Androidand netThe Indus app allows users to type or speak questions and receive text-to-text responses. Users can sign in using their phone number, Google account, or Apple ID, though the service appears to be only available in India at the moment.

The software currently comes with some limitations. Users can’t delete their chat history without deleting their account, and there’s no way to turn off the app’s suggestions, which can sometimes slow down the response time. Sarvam has also warned that access may be limited as it slowly expands its range.

“We are gradually rolling out Indus on a limited scale, so you can hit the waiting list first. We will expand access over time,” Sarvam co-founder Pratyush Kumar said. he wrote on X, adding that the company wants feedback from users.

Set in 2023, Sarvam is earned $41 million so far from investors, including Lightspeed Venture Partners, Peak XV Partners, and Khosla Ventures as they build the largest examples of languages ​​relevant to India.

Sarvam is one of the small but growing Indian groups that are trying to develop domestic solutions in the global artificial intelligence space as India seeks to improve its AI infrastructure.