Sarvam, an Indian AI startup focused on building models for local languages and users, launched its Indus chat app for web and mobile users on Friday. This move enters a fast-growing market dominated by global players like OpenAI, Anthropic, and Google.
India has become a key battleground for generative AI adoption. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman recently noted that ChatGPT has over 100 million weekly active users in India, while Anthropic reported that India accounts for 5.8 percent of total Claude usage, second only to the United States.
Indus serves as a chat interface for Sarvam’s newly announced 105-billion-parameter large language model. The app’s launch comes just two days after the Bengaluru-based company unveiled its 105B and 30B models at the India AI Impact Summit in New Delhi. At that summit, the startup also outlined enterprise initiatives and hardware plans, announcing partnerships with companies including HMD to bring AI to Nokia feature phones and Bosch for AI-enabled automotive applications.
Currently available in beta on iOS, Android, and the web, the Indus app allows users to type or speak queries and receive responses in both text and audio. Users can sign in using their phone number, Google account, or Apple ID, though the service appears to be limited to India for now.
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 reasoning feature, which can sometimes slow response times. Sarvam has also warned that access may be restricted as it gradually expands its compute capacity. The company’s co-founder stated they are rolling out Indus on limited capacity, so users may encounter a waitlist, and that they are actively seeking feedback.
Founded in 2023, Sarvam has raised 41 million dollars to date from investors including Lightspeed Venture Partners, Peak XV Partners, and Khosla Ventures as it builds large language models tailored for India. Sarvam is part of a small but growing group of Indian startups attempting to build domestic alternatives to global artificial intelligence platforms as the country seeks greater control over its AI infrastructure.