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Sarvam AI Co-founder Pratyush Kumar was speaking at the Rising Bharat Summit in Delhi on February 28.
Pratyush Kumar, Co-founder SarvamAI at Rising Bharat Summit
Speaking at the News18 Rising Bharat Summit, Sarvam AI Co-founder Pratyush Kumar has once again highlighted the need to build sovereign AI for India and still continue to use foreign models and not totally depend on them. “Doing end-to-end is what gives AI models the sovereignty otherwise you are dependent on other players,” he highlighted.
The session titled Designing the AI Age, gave us a broader outlook into the Made in India AI model Sarvam which has also developed Sarvam Bulbul and Saras AI tools for text and voice recognition, respectively.
But with the competition building AI models at frenetic pace with heavy budgets and funds allocated, Sarvam, working in their shadows, has quietly shown us that Indian companies can also build small as well as large scale AI models.
When asked about its ability to understand Indian dialects being linked to its origins in India, Kumar suggested the AI model is capable of doing much more. “In fact, our team just ran it (Sarvam) yesterday on the JEE exams of this year and in the mains paper it got all the Maths questions right, and two questions on Physics, ” he said also mentioned that Sarvam AI was used to teach these same JEE exams questions and it did a good job.
“Humans and AI working together will be one interesting area where India will do well, as we are generally so positive as a country about technology and we will find our ways around it,” he pointed out.
Building On A Modest Budget
Kumar was then asked about the battle with these big AI giants who have never-ending pockets and resources. “Different companies are in different phases of their journey, the comparison is not straightforward. Our focus is very clear, you can train AI accurately with fewer resources but eventually we want to step up and build larger models, which will require more compute (power) and that will show everyone that we are in the race,” he said about the big plans for the company.
Kumar is also quick to highlight the importance of AI in a geo-political climate, where governments are trying their best to make these AI companies work for their purposes.
AI Vs Authorities
He also made an intriguing point about 100s of state authorities from various countries taking part in AI Summits, and suggests that AI at any level becomes a resource of high significance and of national interest. “While we should continue to use all the AI models, there should be an increased focus on having sovereign alternatives which we would need at various places.”
Kumar also shared some of the broader plans for Sarvam and their goals. “We want to bring AI too all in India. We are very clear with our goals. We will focus on how India can become an exporter in India and we will find the right partnerships to make it happen.”
Delhi, India, India
February 28, 2026, 16:35 IST
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