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India’s Sarvam wants to bring its AI models to feature phones, cars and smart glasses

Ivan Mehta
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⚡ Quantum Brief
Indian AI startup Sarvam is deploying lightweight edge AI models—requiring only megabytes of storage—to Nokia feature phones, cars, and its own smart glasses, enabling offline functionality on existing processors. Partnering with HMD, Sarvam demonstrated a dedicated AI button on Nokia phones for voice-assisted local language queries about government schemes and markets, though offline capabilities remain unconfirmed. Collaborating with Qualcomm, Sarvam optimized its models for Qualcomm’s chipsets, part of a new "Sovereign AI Experience Suite" targeting phones, PCs, cars, and IoT devices for scalable, data-secure edge deployment. Sarvam unveiled AI-powered smart glasses, Sarvam Kaze, designed and manufactured in India, slated for a May 2026 release as a "builders’ device" for developers. The startup, backed by Lightspeed and Khosla Ventures, is shifting from enterprise to consumer applications, including a Bosch partnership to integrate AI assistants into vehicles.
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Indian AI company Sarvam plans to bring its newly released AI models to users by deploying them on Nokia feature phones, cars and its own smart glasses. The company, backed by the likes of Lightspeed, PeakXV, and Khosla Ventures, said at the ongoing India AI Impact Summit in New Delhi that it is using edge models that take up only megabytes of space, can run on most phones with existing processors, and can work offline. The company is teaming up with HMD to bring a conversational AI assistant to Nokia and HMD phones. A video demo showed a user clicking a dedicated AI button on a feature phone to converse with an AI assistant in a local language to get guidance on government schemes or local markets. It is not clear if all the AI features showcased at the event will work offline. “Through edge AI, we want to bring intelligence to every phone, laptop, car, and even a new generation of devices,” Tushar Goswamy, head of Edge AI at Sarvam, said during a presentation. He said that the company has worked with Qualcomm to tune its models for the latter’s chipsets. Sarvam didn’t provide details on which devices the models will be deployed to. Qualcomm said that it is developing a “Sovereign AI Experience Suite” that would work across a range of devices, including phones, PCs, laptops, cars, and IoT devices. “Our collaboration with Qualcomm Technologies can accelerate how we take sovereign AI from research to deployment,” Sarvam co-founder and CEO Vivek Raghwan said in a statement. “This will allow Sarvam to design models and applications that run closer to the edge, safeguard data, and are ready for adoption, at scale.” Techcrunch event TechCrunch Founder Summit 2026: Tickets Live On June 23 in Boston, more than 1,100 founders come together at TechCrunch Founder Summit 2026 for a full day focused on growth, execution, and real-world scaling. Learn from founders and investors who have shaped the industry. Connect with peers navigating similar growth stages. Walk away with tactics you can apply immediatelySave up to $300 on your pass or save up to 30% with group tickets for teams of four or more. TechCrunch Founder Summit: Tickets Live On June 23 in Boston, more than 1,100 founders come together at TechCrunch Founder Summit 2026 for a full day focused on growth, execution, and real-world scaling. Learn from founders and investors who have shaped the industry. Connect with peers navigating similar growth stages. Walk away with tactics you can apply immediatelySave up to $300 on your pass or save up to 30% with group tickets for teams of four or more. Boston, MA | June 23, 2026 REGISTER NOW Sarvam also said it is working with German engineering giant Bosch to bring AI assistants to cars, though it didn’t disclose many other details. The startup also showed off a pair of AI smart-glasses, dubbed Sarvam Kaze, designed and manufactured in India. The company’s co-founder, Pratyush Kumar, said the glasses are a “builders’ device” and will be available in May. Sarvam has so far operated largely in the enterprise market, offering its voice-focused models for use cases like customer support. The new models and partnerships indicate the company is shifting its focus towards consumer use cases. Topics AI, Hardware, India, India AI Impact Summit 2026, Qualcomm, Sarvam Ivan Mehta Ivan covers global consumer tech developments at TechCrunch. He is based out of India and has previously worked at publications including Huffington Post and The Next Web. You can contact or verify outreach from Ivan by emailing im@ivanmehta.com or via encrypted message at ivan.42 on Signal.

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