India’s Sarvam launches Indus AI chat app as competition heats up

Sarvam Launches Indus Chat App for Indian Users

Sarvam, an Indian AI startup specializing in models for local languages and users, introduced its new Indus chat app for both web and mobile users. This move marks Sarvam’s entry into a competitive market dominated by global giants like OpenAI, Anthropic, and Google.

India has emerged as a crucial battleground for generative AI adoption, with significant players like OpenAI and Anthropic making strides in the region. OpenAI’s ChatGPT boasts over 100 million weekly active users in India, while Anthropic’s Claude usage in India accounts for 5.8% of the total, second only to the U.S.

Indus serves as the chat interface for Sarvam’s recently unveiled 105B model, a large language model with 105 billion parameters. The app’s launch follows Sarvam’s introduction of the 105B and 30B models at the India AI Impact Summit in New Delhi. At the summit, Sarvam also outlined its enterprise initiatives, hardware plans, and partnerships with companies like HMD and Bosch for AI integration in Nokia feature phones and automotive applications.

Currently in beta, the Indus app is available on iOS, Android, and the web. Users can input queries via text or voice and receive responses in text and audio formats. The app offers multiple sign-in options, including phone number, Google or Microsoft account, and Apple ID, though the service is currently limited to users in India.

While the Indus app presents a promising solution, it comes with some limitations. Users cannot delete chat history without deleting their account, and there is no option to disable the app’s reasoning feature, which may impact response times. Sarvam has advised that access may be limited initially as the company scales its compute capacity.

Co-founder Pratyush Kumar mentioned on X that, “We’re gradually rolling out Indus on a limited compute capacity, so you may hit a waitlist at first. We will expand access over time,” indicating the company’s commitment to user feedback.

Established in 2023, Sarvam has secured $41 million in funding from investors such as Lightspeed Venture Partners, Peak XV Partners, and Khosla Ventures. The startup focuses on developing large language models tailored for the Indian market.

Sarvam is part of a growing cohort of Indian startups striving to develop indigenous AI platforms, aligning with India’s push for greater autonomy in AI infrastructure.