Reliance-backed consortium unveils ‘Hanooman’ series of AI models

Backed by Reliance and top IITs, India's 'Hanooman' language models aim to make a dent in the generative AI space.

Words reading "Artificial intelligence AI", miniature of robot and toy hand are pictured in this illustration taken December 14, 2023. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration

In a move signaling India’s aspirations to become an artificial intelligence superpower, a consortium backed by industrial giant Reliance Industries Ltd and the nation’s elite engineering institutions is gearing up to launch its inaugural ChatGPT-like service next month.

The collaboration is reportedly between Seetha Mahalaxmi Healthcare (SML) and the BharatGPT ecosystem. The pair has just unveiled the ‘Hanooman’ series of Indic language models.

These AI models can currently understand and respond in 11 Indian languages like Hindi, Tamil, and Marathi, with plans to expand to over 20 tongues. Ranging from 1.5 billion all the way up to a massive 40 billion parameters, Hanooman packs some serious multilingual muscle.

But it’s not just about chatting. Hanooman is being billed as a multimodal AI powerhouse that can generate text, speech, videos and more in multiple Indian languages. One of the first customised versions is VizzhyGPT, an AI model fine-tuned for healthcare using reams of medical data.

The brains behind this ambitious project is a collaboration between SML, Reliance’s tech arm, and the BharatGPT research group led by IIT Bombay along with 7 other elite Indian engineering institutes. They have backing from the government’s science department and are working closely with Reliance’s telecom and retail operations.

India is vying to become a major AI player, as the transformative tech has been dominated by the US and China so far. Hanooman is joining the fray alongside other homegrown Indic language AIs like Krutrim from Ola, SaravamAI’s OpenHathi, and IIT Madras’ Airavata model.