The technological landscape in India is about to witness a paradigm shift as BharatGPT, a consortium championed by Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Industries, gears up to launch ‘Hanooman,’ a state-of-the-art artificial intelligence (AI) model designed specifically for the Indian market. Set to roll out in March, Hanooman showcases the potential of India’s collaborative efforts in advancing groundbreaking AI technology.
Developed in collaboration with renowned Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) universities, Hanooman is more than just an AI model; it is a symbol of India’s commitment to leveraging technology for societal progress. The model is poised to operate in 11 local languages, addressing the linguistic diversity of the country, and will focus on four critical sectors: healthcare, governance, financial services, and education.
In a recent preview event, Hanooman demonstrated its capabilities to a select audience, highlighting its versatility. From addressing queries in regional Indian languages like Tamil to aiding a developer in writing computer code, the AI model showcased its potential applications across various domains.
‘Hanooman’ is not only a collaboration between academia and industry but also receives support from start-ups such as Sarvam and Krutrim, backed by venture capital giants Lightspeed Venture Partners and Vinod Khosla’s fund, respectively. The model is part of a broader initiative to develop open-source AI models tailored for India’s unique needs.
One of the key features of ‘Hanooman’ is its speech-to-text capabilities, enhancing user-friendliness and accessibility. In line with this, Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd., a major player in the telecom sector, plans to develop customized AI models for specific purposes. The company is also working on ‘Jio Brain,’ a platform aimed at harnessing AI across its vast network, serving approximately 450 million subscribers in the country.
This initiative aligns with Reliance Jio Infocomm Chairman Akash Ambani’s vision, emphasizing the company’s longstanding partnership with IIT-Bombay since 2014. The launch of BharatGPT and the introduction of ‘Hanooman’ mark significant steps towards realizing Jio 2.0, an ambitious vision to foster a comprehensive technological ecosystem in India.
