Digital
Sarvam AI launches Indus, India’s sovereign AI app
Government-backed beta brings 105B model to users
BENGALURU: India’s sovereign AI ambitions have moved from white papers to working product. Bengaluru-based Sarvam AI, founded by Vivek Raghavan and Pratyush Kumar, has opened limited beta access to Indus, a new conversational interface powered by its 105-billion-parameter sovereign model. The launch follows the company’s selection under the Government of India’s IndiaAI Mission to build a home-grown large language model.
For Sarvam, Indus is more than an app. It is proof of concept.
The company says its 105B model is smaller than the frontier systems that power global consumer chat platforms. That is by design. For now, the focus is on accuracy, efficiency and alignment with Indian contexts before scaling to larger foundational models. In other words, build steady, then build big.
True AI sovereignty, Sarvam argues, means owning the full stack. The first step was training foundational models from scratch in India. Indus is the next, giving India control over the data and interface layers as well.
Backed by the Centre, the project is positioned as part of the broader Atmanirbhar Bharat push. In a post on X, Sarvam said it is proud to have been selected to build India’s sovereign large language model, fluent in Indian languages, voice-enabled, capable of reasoning and ready for secure, population-scale deployment. The company thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi and senior officials for their support.
Co-founder Pratyush Kumar struck a more rallying note. India, he wrote, must be a builder and not merely a consumer in this defining era of technology. Strategic autonomy starts now.
Indus is currently available in beta on iOS, Android and the web. Users can ask questions via text or voice and receive responses in both formats. Sign-in options include phone number, Google, Microsoft and Apple accounts. For now, access appears restricted to India.
There are early-stage wrinkles. Users cannot delete chat history without deleting their account. The reasoning feature cannot be switched off, which may slow responses at times. Compute capacity is limited, so new users may encounter a waitlist as access is gradually expanded.
Sarvam has made it clear that this is a work in progress. The company describes itself as being in listen mode, inviting feedback from developers, researchers, creators and everyday users. If sovereign AI is to mean anything, it says, it must be built with the country, not just for it.
The message is simple. Try Indus. Say what works. Say what does not. In the race for artificial intelligence, India is signalling it does not want to merely download the future. It wants to write it.
Digital
Truecaller opens Business Chat platform to global partners and enterprises
Expansion aims to replace SMS with trusted, rich and conversational messaging
MUMBAI: Truecaller has expanded access to its Business Chat platform, opening it up to global channel partners and enterprise solution providers as it looks to reshape how businesses connect with customers.
The move allows partners worldwide to offer the platform to enterprise clients, enabling a shift away from traditional SMS towards a more interactive, verified and media-rich communication experience. The company is positioning this as a higher-trust alternative in an increasingly cluttered digital landscape.
With over 500 million active users globally, Truecaller is betting on its scale and daily engagement to give brands a more direct and credible way to reach consumers. The platform supports contextual conversations, real-time insights and engagement metrics, allowing businesses to fine-tune communication across the customer journey.
“The definition of success for modern enterprises has evolved. It’s no longer just about delivery but about earning attention and driving meaningful engagement,” said Truecaller global head, GTM Priyam Bose. He added that opening the platform to partners creates a gateway for brands to connect with users in a more trusted and action-oriented environment.
The expansion is already underway, with partners such as Gupshup and OneXtel live in India, while Globe Teleservices, Cloudcom and Sling Africa are driving adoption in international markets.
By equipping partners with data-driven tools and a conversational interface, Truecaller aims to help businesses cut through noise and build stronger customer relationships. The platform also promises a cleaner, more secure interaction layer, addressing long-standing concerns around spam and trust in business messaging.
As enterprises rethink customer engagement in a post-SMS world, Truecaller’s latest push signals a clear ambition to become a central player in conversational commerce.
