Vishnu Vardhan, a ballistic trauma surgeon turned technology entrepreneur, sees the recent launch of Hanooman, a home-grown multilingual generative AI platform, as just the first step. His startup, Seetha Mahalaxmi Healthcare (SML), now plans to build a full-stack ecosystem of AI solutions, with its own operating system (OS) next in line.
Vardhan, co-founder and CEO of SML, the parent company of Hanooman told Moneycontrol that beta testing for the OS is expected to be announced next month, with a potential rollout within three months.
“We are working on building smaller AI models where even GPUs don’t need to be run. We are going that granular, and I think that’s the next big opportunity. Hanooman needs application tools where people can deploy very easily. We are building those applications; and also its OS in the coming months. It’s a kind of no code platform that we are building,” Vardhan said.
“We are building the OS on top of large language models (LLMs). Because LLMs can expose people’s APIs, so we went a step ahead and thought of building tools where anyone with a little bit of knowledge can deploy agents for their company…This OS can run on good laptops. We want to bring edge computing to generative AI, but we’ll have to use laptops for that. Deploying chips would be expensive,” he added.
The goal of the OS is to reduce dependence on expensive graphics processing units (GPUs) for running LLMs. The platform is also developing enterprise-grade small language models (SLMs) and use cases, which, along with the OS, will address concerns about LLMs exposing APIs for enterprises, according to Vardhan.
SLMs are cost-effective alternatives to LLMs. They can operate in a closed-source model and require less computational power, making them a better choice for enterprises exploring generative AI.
Hanooman offers both an open-source alternative to commercially available LLMs and a closed-source model for enterprises seeking on-premise solutions.
This comes a couple of weeks after the launch of Hanooman by SML and Abu Dhabi-based AI investment firm 3AI Holdings. Touted as the largest multilingual and most affordable generative AI platform, it supports 98 global languages, including 12 Indian languages.
The platform aims to reach 200 million users within its first year and is building use cases for healthcare, education, financial services, and governance sectors. For example, in healthcare, it's working on advanced use cases around genomic signatures. In financial services, it's building proof of concepts (POCs) with at least six major banks on around 14 use cases.
SML India has partnered with technology giants like Hewlett Packard, Yotta, Intel, the Telangana Government, and software industry body NASSCOM to offer generative AI enterprise solutions through Hanooman.
Yotta will provide GPU cloud infrastructure for SML India's operations. The partnership with NASSCOM focuses on initiatives like supporting AI startups, fintech innovation, engaging with 3,000 colleges, and participating in research programmes.
Building foundational models in India
Vardhan's interest in using technology in medicine began over 10 years ago when he used telemedicine platforms as a surgeon with the United Nations.
“I saw the power of technology and what it can do especially with more data coming in, that got me interested in tech,” he said.
In 2020, Vardhan launched Vizzhy, an AI-based smart digital therapeutics platform, in the US. He then established SML India in 2023.
Through SML, Vardhan works closely with Indian researchers and institutions, while also funding projects.
“We saw a lot of opportunity in building foundational models in India because nobody wanted to make it. They relied on models coming from the US and built applications on it. Building applications only brings 10 percent of the value chain. Doing something foundational is really what brings an ecosystem,” he said.
Foundational models are a type of machine learning model used to create generative AI tools. These models have the capability to perform a wide range of general tasks, including language comprehension, text and image generation, and natural language conversation.
“It’s just the beginning of generative AI and it will become artificial general intelligence (AGI) in the next 10 years. If you don’t invest now in research, India can’t leverage that spurned interest,” he added.
Fundraising plans
Hanooman is looking to raise more funds to support its development, given the capital-intensive nature of generative AI technology, said Vardhan. He declined to provide specific details about the fundraising plans.
Vardhan clarified that Reliance Jio, led by Mukesh Ambani, had not directly invested in Hanooman, despite media reports suggesting otherwise. He confirmed that SML and 3AI Holdings are currently Hanooman's only investors.
"Jio has not funded us," Vardhan said. "We are not connected to Jio or companies there. We only had initial discussions with them regarding GPU supply."
He also said that Hanooman is a brand name under SML India, while IIT Bombay’s BharatGPT group was collaborating on research and building foundational models. “BharatGPT group are researchers. The model, applications and other things are done by SML. Hanooman.ai is our brand name and SML is the company.”
SML is also planning a ‘100 PhD programme’ in India, wherein it will fund 100 researchers with their PhDs every year for the next 10 years to boost domestic research and development talent. This will be announced in July-August when colleges open up.
Disclosure: Moneycontrol is a part of the Network18 group. Network18 is controlled by Independent Media Trust, of which Reliance Industries is the sole beneficiary.
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