Indian company Sarvam launches Indus AI chat app as competition heats up

Sarvam, an Indian AI startup focused on building models of local languages ​​and users, on Friday launched the 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 at a time when India has become a major battleground for generative AI adoption. Recently, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said ChatGPT has more than 100 million weekly active users in India, while Anthropic said India accounts for 5.8% of Claude’s total usage, second only to the US.

Indus serves as the chat interface for the newly announced Sarvam 105B model, the company’s large language model with 105 billion parameters. The launch of the app comes two days after Bengaluru-based Sarvam unveiled its 105B and 30B models at the India AI Impact Summit in New Delhi earlier this week. At the summit, the startup also outlined enterprise initiatives and hardware plans and announced partnerships with companies including HMD to bring AI to Nokia’s feature phones and Bosch for AI-enabled automotive applications.

Currently available in beta on iOS, Android and web, the Indus app allows users to type or speak queries and receive text and voice responses. Users can log in using their phone number, Google Account, or Apple ID, though the service appears to be limited to India at the moment.

The app currently comes with some limitations. Users cannot delete their chat history without deleting their account, and there is no option to turn off the app’s heuristics feature, which can sometimes slow down response times. Sarvam also warned that access may be restricted as it gradually expands its computing capacity.

“We are gradually rolling out Indus with limited compute capacity, so it may hit a waiting list initially,” Sarvam co-founder Pratyush Kumar wrote on X, adding that the company is seeking feedback from users.

Founded in 2023, Sarvam has raised $41 million so far from investors, including Lightspeed Venture Partners, Peak XV Partners and Khosla Ventures as it builds large language models specifically designed for India.

Sarvam is one of a small but growing group of Indian startups trying to build home-grown alternatives to global AI platforms as India seeks greater control over AI infrastructure.