Zoho CEO Sridhar Vembu defends Sarvam AI amid Sarvam-M backlash

Zoho CEO Sridhar Vembu has publicly defended Sarvam AI following criticism of its latest Large Language Model (LLM), Sarvam-M. The Bengaluru-based startup recently launched Sarvam-M, a 24-billion parameter open-weights AI model, under the IndiaAI Mission, aiming to advance India's vision of sovereign AI.

Despite the ambitious launch, Sarvam-M has faced backlash, notably from investor Deedy Das of Menlo Ventures, who called the model "embarrassing" and compared it unfavorably to an open-source model developed by two Korean college students.

In response, Vembu emphasized the typical slow adoption curve for new products, stating, "there is no product we have built that was ever an instant hit. Even when we were the first mover in a new market and we had done a lot of technical work, we only got slow traction."

Co-founder Vivek Raghavan highlighted the significance of Sarvam-M, calling it "an important stepping stone on our journey to build Sovereign AI for India." The model's development has sparked debate about India's approach to AI sovereignty, especially since Sarvam-M builds upon Mistral, a French open-source model, rather than being trained entirely from scratch.

This controversy underscores the challenges faced by Indian startups in balancing innovation with global collaboration while striving to establish a distinct AI identity. Sarvam AI's efforts reflect a broader push within India to develop indigenous AI technologies that can compete on the world stage.

As Sarvam AI continues to expand, the company remains committed to its vision despite criticism, signaling a long-term strategy to nurture homegrown AI capabilities.

Zoho CEO Sridhar Vembu defended Sarvam AI amid backlash over its new Large Language Model, Sarvam-M. Critics questioned its originality, comparing it to an open-source model by Korean students. Sarvam AI emphasized slow traction is common and highlighted Sarvam-M as a key step toward India’s sovereign AI goals.