India pioneers Frugal AI
India pioneered frugal healthcare, frugal banking, and frugal space exploration.
Now India is pioneering frugal AI
When Sam Altman, chief of OpenAI, came to India he claimed Indians can’t build a model comparable to ChatGPT (just like Steve Wozniak claimed Indians can’t be creative).
CP Gurnani, who headed Tech Mahindra, a leading Indian IT services firm, decided to prove Altman wrong.
In just 5 months, Tech Mahindra developed Project Indus, an Indian LLM for local languages and 37+ dialects
The R&D team spent only $5 million to develop Project Indus in partnership with Dell and Intel.
Learn about Project Indus, launched in late June 2024
CP Gurnani has left Tech Mahindra and launched AlonUS with Rahul Bhatia, founder of IndiGo (InterGlobe Aviation Ltd)
AIonOS offers specialized AI products and technologies, including custom solutions, industry-specific products (for hospitality, logistics), data insight engines, and an AI-led customer experience.
Back in 2008, as a Forrester analyst, I did extensive field research across India and published a ten-part report series titled “India: The Innovation Giant (Re)Awakens”.
This series explored the innovative business models pioneered by large Indian corporations like ICICI Bank, multinationals like Cisco and Microsoft, big IT firms like Tata Consultancy Services, startups, social entreprises like SELCO Foundation, and grassroots entrepreneurs in India to “do better with less” — that is deliver greater social and economic value to more Indians using fewer resources.
16 years later, India has proven to be a Frugal Innovation Giant, as explained in our book published by Penguin India.
In coming decade, expect India to leverage AI frugally to pioneer sustainable and inclusive business models that will disrupt and reinvent every industry and sector.
Conscious Indian developers will evolve Generative AI into Regenerative AI
Leveraging AI wisely, India *will* shape a world-class Frugal Economy, that is the envy of the world.
Learn about The Frugal Economy, the topic of my upcoming book.
