BharatGPT: 11-Language AI by Bengaluru Firm

Bengaluru firm contributes to BharatGPT, an AI in 11 languages

BharatGPT is being developed by a collaboration directed by the Indian Institute of Technology-Bombay and includes academics and specialists from numerous IITs.

"The consortium is creating Large Language Foundational Models with a focus on India," Vishnu Vardhan, CEO of Seetha Mahalaxmi Healthcare (SML), the business that has so far funded the consortium, told TOI. This is an important step forward in India's artificial intelligence path. Not only will BharatGPT allow users to work in 11 Indian languages, but it is also designed from the ground up to be multi-modal, which means that input does not have to be just text. It may be a photograph, a paper, or an audio file."

He said that, while this is a government-backed effort, monies from the government are not expected for several months.

"SML has already funded US$2.5 million over the last 18 months or so." As of today, we've spent US$16 million on importing 256 GPUs, which are critical to the development of BharatGPT. We're close to reaching an arrangement with a big chipmaker for another 1,000 GPUs. This would cost an additional US$120 million," said Vishnu Vardhan, who is originally from Ballari.

He described BharatGPT's path as beginning in May 2022, when he met Prof Ganesh Ramakrishnan of IIT Bombay at MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) and discussed bringing AI to India by developing Large Language Models ( LLMs) suited to the nation.

"A critical challenge for India in AI is the scarcity of digital content in Indian languages, which limits access." This not only disconnects people from technology, but it also stifles economic advancement in critical industries. That is why BharatGPT is designed to support 11 languages. "In the future, it will be evolved to handle 22 languages," he stated.

Prof Ganesh leads the BharatGPT consortium, which comprises prominent academic institutions such as IITs, IIIT-Hyderabad, IIM Indore, and Bhashini. Reliance Jio said on Wednesday that it is also cooperating with IIT-B on BharatGPT, and Nasscom is also collaborating with the consortium.

"BharatGPT seeks to leverage AI to empower India's diverse communities, bridging the digital divide. This has transformative potential to reshape India's digital landscape and unlock opportunities for the entire population," Ramakrishnan stated in a press release.