Sarvam AI is an Indian startup on a mission to revolutionize the way generative AI (Gen AI) is developed and applied in the country. Their focus lies in creating efficient large language models (LLMs) specifically designed for Indic languages and contexts.
About the Founders
Sarvam AI is led by two accomplished individuals: Vivek Raghavan and Pratyush Kumar. Raghavan boasts experience advising the Indian government on projects like the UIDAI (Unique Identification Authority of India) and the GST portal. Kumar is a researcher with experience at firms like IBM and Microsoft, and also the founder of an open-source Indian language AI initiative, AI4Bharat.
About the Startup
Founded in July 2023, Sarvam AI has garnered significant attention in the AI landscape. Their approach centers on creating domain-specific generative AI models, believing that smaller, focused models can deliver superior performance for specific tasks. Their initial efforts target training AI models for diverse Indian languages and developing voice-based interfaces. Additionally, they collaborate with Indian enterprises to co-create custom AI models leveraging their unique data sets.
Vision
Sarvam AI’s vision, aptly reflected in their name (Sarvam translates to “all” in Sanskrit), is to make AI accessible and impactful for everyone in India. They aim to bridge the language barrier and empower a wider range of users to benefit from AI solutions.
Funding
In a significant development, Sarvam AI secured a whopping $41 million in Series A funding in February 2024. This round, led by Lightspeed Venture Partners, included a previously undisclosed seed capital investment. This funding marks the largest ever for an Indian AI startup, propelling Sarvam AI to the forefront of the country’s AI revolution.
Latest about the Startup
Sarvam AI recently announced a collaboration with Microsoft to make their Indic voice LLM available on Microsoft Azure. This partnership signifies a major step towards democratizing AI in India. The initial focus will be on Hindi language support, with plans to expand to other Indian languages while ensuring compatibility with colloquial speech patterns. By working together, Sarvam AI and Microsoft aim to empower developers to create real-time, voice-based generative AI applications at scale, specifically tailored for the Indian market.
This collaboration extends beyond just the LLM. Both companies are actively researching ways to enhance Microsoft’s Generative AI models for Indian languages and facilitate their large-scale deployment. This initiative underscores Microsoft’s commitment to fostering an “AI-first” India and empowering individuals across the country to leverage the power of AI solutions in their native languages.
