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Highlights
India’s AI Advancements with Sarvam’s Sovereign Large Language Model
India’s AI capabilities are set to be significantly enhanced as the Government of India has appointed Sarvam to create the nation’s sovereign Large Language Model (LLM) as part of the ambitious IndiaAI Mission. This initiative is historic, as it marks the first occasion that India will develop an indigenous foundational AI model from the ground up, designed for reasoning, voice interactions, and fluency in various Indian languages.
Sarvam will be allocated specific computing resources to facilitate the model’s development and deployment entirely within India, leveraging local infrastructure and expertise. The model is anticipated to be ready for secure, large-scale deployment, aligning with broader objectives of fostering strategic autonomy, promoting domestic innovation, and reinforcing India’s leadership position in the field of artificial intelligence for the foreseeable future.
About Sarvam and Its Role in AI Model Development
Sarvam is a leading Indian AI company that has already shown its expertise in creating foundational models adept at understanding Indian languages. Transitioning from a research lab into a comprehensive Sovereign AI platform, Sarvam’s technology is crafted to assist governments, businesses, and non-profit organisations throughout India. The company’s models have reportedly surpassed leading global models in benchmarks for Indian languages, all while ensuring cost efficiency and scalability.
Shri Ashwini Vaishnaw, Union Minister for Electronics & Information Technology, Railways, and Information & Broadcasting, commented on Sarvam’s capabilities by stating that he is confident they will produce models that can compete on a global scale.
Statements from Sarvam’s Co-founders
Dr. Vivek Raghavan, Co-founder of Sarvam, shared his feelings of pride and responsibility upon being chosen for this significant project. He expressed gratitude for the opportunity to develop India’s sovereign model, highlighting its importance in building essential national AI infrastructure. Dr. Raghavan emphasised the goal of creating multi-modal, multi-scale foundational models from scratch, which will pave the way for a myriad of applications. For citizens, this means engaging with AI that is relatable, and for businesses, it enables intelligence solutions without the need to transfer data beyond national borders.
Dr. Pratyush Kumar, another Co-founder at Sarvam, conveyed appreciation to the Government of India for its vision and support in propelling AI forward. He stated that developing an AI ecosystem for India has been central to Sarvam’s mission, aiming to empower developers to create national solutions through their research, technology, and models. As part of the Sovereign LLM initiative, they are creating three model variants: Sarvam-Large for advanced capabilities in reasoning and generation, Sarvam-Small for real-time interactive uses, and Sarvam-Edge for compact on-device functionalities. Sarvam is collaborating with AI4Bharat at IIT Madras, a front-runner in Indian language AI research, to build these models with the help of a highly skilled team that comprehends the intricacies of AI development.
Infrastructure Initiatives within the IndiaAI Mission
In addition to this project, the government is taking steps to create a centralized computing infrastructure through collaboration with GPU-as-a-service providers such as Jio, Yotta, CtrlS, Tata Communications, and NxtGen. This aims to provide GPU access at some of the most competitive rates globally.
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