Indian AI company Sarvam plans to bring its newly released AI models to users by deploying them on Nokia feature phones, cars, and its own smart glasses. The company, backed by investors like Lightspeed, Peak XV, and Khosla Ventures, announced at the India AI Impact Summit in New Delhi that it is using edge models. These models take up only megabytes of space, can run on most phones with existing processors, and can work offline.
Sarvam is teaming up with HMD to bring a conversational AI assistant to Nokia and HMD phones. A video demonstration showed a user clicking a dedicated AI button on a feature phone to converse with an AI assistant in a local language. The assistant provided guidance on topics like government schemes or local markets. It is not yet clear if all the AI features showcased will work offline.
“Through edge AI, we want to bring intelligence to every phone, laptop, car, and even a new generation of devices,” said Tushar Goswamy, head of Edge AI at Sarvam, during a presentation.
He stated that the company has worked with Qualcomm to tune its models for Qualcomm’s chipsets. Sarvam did not provide specific details on which devices the models will be deployed to. Qualcomm commented that it is developing a “Sovereign AI Experience Suite” designed to work across a wide range of devices, including phones, PCs, laptops, cars, and IoT devices.
“Our collaboration with Qualcomm Technologies can accelerate how we take sovereign AI from research to deployment,” said Sarvam co-founder and CEO Vivek Raghavan in a statement. “This will allow Sarvam to design models and applications that run closer to the edge, safeguard data, and are ready for adoption, at scale.”
Sarvam also said it is working with German engineering giant Bosch to bring AI assistants to cars, though further details were not disclosed.
The startup additionally showcased a pair of AI smart glasses, named Sarvam Kaze, which are designed and manufactured in India. The company’s co-founder, Pratyush Kumar, described the glasses as a “builders’ device” and announced they will be available in May.
Sarvam has so far operated largely in the enterprise market, offering its voice-focused models for use cases like customer support. These new models and partnerships signal the company is shifting its focus toward consumer applications.