Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Tuesday launched KEO, an AI-ready, compact personal computer priced at Rs 18,999, and "designed and developed entirely within the state to bridge Karnataka's digital access gap".
According to officials, KEO, which stands for Knowledge-driven, Economical, Open-source, aims to make intelligent computing accessible at the grassroots and empower citizens across Karnataka.
The device, unveiled by the Chief Minister Siddaramaiah at the Bengaluru Tech Summit 2025, has been developed by the Department of Electronics, IT & BT in collaboration with KEONICS (Karnataka State Electronics Development Corporation Limited).
Later, addressing a press conference here, Information Technology Minister Priyank Kharge said, "India's most affordable artificial intelligence personal computer has been launched officially. It is the most compact, powerful AI device in India right now and it is completely based on open source. Nowhere in the world can you build such a device for Rs 18,999." When asked about the pricing, he said, "When we started, it was a low-cost project. Now it is affordable. The problem is geopolitics -- the US and China's stand on rare earth materials and that is what pushed up the memory cost. Now it's de-escalating".
"We have spoken to a lot of people in Taiwan and the US as well, and everybody is of the opinion that it has de-escalated now. It may take a couple of months to stabilise. Once it stabilises, we will ensure that the cost is lowered as well. As of now, it is affordable. You will not get such a powerful AI-edge machine at this cost." According to him, Infosys co-founder Kris Gopalakrishnan and Biocon chief Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw saw the device and were very impressed.
"They have placed an order to procure it, and they will be sponsoring it for schools," he said.
The minister said the device was built to ensure "every student, engineer, creator, innovator and household has access to powerful, intelligent computing at the grassroots, not just at the top of the pyramid." He highlighted that fewer than 10 per cent of Indian households own a computer.
In Karnataka, the figure is just 15 per cent, well below the level required for modern education and digital livelihoods, he added.
"While smartphones are widespread, studies show that computers are essential for academic work, coding, online classes and hybrid learning," he said, noting that over 60 per cent of Indian students reported being unable to participate in online learning due to the lack of a device -- a factor contributing to higher dropout rates.
Sharath Kumar Bache Gowda, Chairman of KEONICS, said a delegation led by Japanese women entrepreneurs has already seen the device and expressed interest in funding it.
"KEO is now open for pre-orders on our website. We are trying to optimise manufacturing. We are checking in Mysuru and other places. The chip was designed, developed and built by a Bengaluru-based semiconductor company," he added.
According to a statement, built on an open-source RISC-V processor with a Linux-based OS, KEO offers a full computing experience at an accessible price point. It features 4G, Wi-Fi, Ethernet, USB-A and USB-C ports, HDMI and audio jack support, and comes fully loaded with learning, programming and productivity tools.
KEO includes an on-device AI core, enabling AI to run locally without internet access. It comes preloaded with BUDDH, an AI agent trained on the Karnataka DSERT syllabus to assist students even in low-connectivity regions, the statement added.
Following the launch, KEO is being showcased to the public throughout the Summit, allowing students, start-ups, industry leaders and visitors to experience the device first-hand and understand its role in enabling mass-affordable, AI-ready computing across the state.
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