India’s AI Moment? Sarvam Drops Indus Chat App to Challenge ChatGPT and Claude
by Suraj Malik - 2 days ago - 3 min read
India’s generative AI race just gained a serious homegrown contender. Bengaluru-based startup Sarvam has launched Indus, a new AI chat app powered by its own 105-billion-parameter model, positioning it as one of the boldest “Made in India” attempts to compete with global leaders like ChatGPT and Claude.
The move comes as India rapidly becomes one of the world’s largest AI usage markets, yet remains heavily dependent on foreign platforms.
What Indus Actually Is
Indus is a conversational AI assistant available on web, iOS and Android, designed to handle both typed and spoken queries.
Core features
- Built on Sarvam’s new Sarvam 105B large language model
- Smaller 30B model variant announced alongside
- Supports text and voice input
- Returns answers in both text and audio
- Sign-in via phone number, Google or Apple ID
- Currently appears focused on Indian users
Functionally, Indus resembles mainstream AI chat apps but is positioned as a locally optimized alternative.
Why This Launch Matters Right Now
India has quietly become a major battleground for generative AI adoption.
OpenAI reports more than 100 million weekly active ChatGPT users in India
Anthropic says India accounts for 5.8 percent of global Claude usage, second only to the United States
Despite this massive demand, most activity flows through foreign AI systems. Sarvam is betting there is room for a domestic platform focused on Indian languages, contexts and deployment realities.
Early Reality Check: Still in Beta
Indus is not launching at full scale, and early users may encounter limitations.
Current constraints
- Limited compute capacity may trigger waitlists
- Users cannot delete individual chats without deleting their entire account
- The always-on reasoning feature can slow response times
- Infrastructure scaling is still in progress
Co-founder Pratyush Kumar has indicated the company is rolling out gradually and actively collecting user feedback.
Bigger Than a Chatbot: Sarvam’s Broader Strategy
The Indus app is only one part of Sarvam’s wider AI push.
At the India AI Impact Summit in New Delhi, the company also unveiled its 105B and 30B models, alongside enterprise and hardware ambitions.
Key partnerships include:
- Collaboration with HMD to bring AI capabilities to Nokia feature phones
- Partnership with Bosch for AI-enabled automotive applications
These moves suggest Sarvam is attempting to build a full domestic AI ecosystem spanning consumer, enterprise and embedded use cases.
Funding and Competitive Position
Founded in 2023, Sarvam has raised $41 million from investors including Lightspeed Venture Partners, Peak XV Partners and Khosla Ventures.
While still far smaller than global AI leaders, the company is part of a growing group of Indian startups working to build domestic model infrastructure as India pushes for greater technological self-reliance.
The Real Test Ahead
Indus faces several execution challenges:
- Matching the response quality of global models
- Scaling compute capacity quickly
- Delivering clear advantages in Indian languages
- Winning everyday user habit share
The opportunity is significant, but so is the competitive pressure.
Bottom Line
Sarvam’s Indus is one of the strongest signals yet that India wants a meaningful role in the generative AI era. The product shows real ambition and technical progress, but it remains early and infrastructure-constrained. If Sarvam can scale quickly and deliver clear value for Indian users, Indus could emerge as a credible local challenger. If not, global AI platforms are likely to maintain their dominance in India’s rapidly expanding AI market.