I’ve seen a lot of AI demos, but what happened at the India AI Impact Summit this week is a genuine first. Imagine having a real-time AI conversation on a ₹2,000 keypad phone—no internet, no smartphone, just pure tech magic.
Indian startup Sarvam AI and HMD Global (the folks behind Nokia phones) just proved that you don’t need a ₹1 lakh flagship to join the AI revolution.
AI for Every Hand: The Nokia Connection
To be honest, the coolest part of this summit was seeing a Nokia feature phone handle AI tasks like a pro. Sarvam is bringing their conversational assistant to HMD and Nokia feature handsets, specifically targeting the millions of Indians who still prefer a classic keypad.
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The Magic: A dedicated AI button on the phone for instant access.
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Offline First: It works without an internet connection, meaning no data packs are needed for basic queries.
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Multi-lingual: Supports 10 Indian languages (like Hindi, Tamil, and Bengali) so you can talk to your phone in your mother tongue.
Why it matters: This isn’t just a gimmick. For someone in a rural area, being able to ask their phone about government schemes or market prices via voice—offline—is a massive leap in accessibility.
Sarvam Kaze: The Smart Glasses You’ll Actually Wear
I noticed PM Modi testing these out, and they look surprisingly sleek. The Sarvam Kaze smart glasses are India’s answer to Meta’s Ray-Bans, and they’re coming sooner than you think.
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Launch Date: Scheduled for May 2026.
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Capabilities: They can “see” what you see through embedded cameras and answer questions about your surroundings in real-time.
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Design: Designed and built entirely in India, with a focus on local language processing.
Why it matters: While most smart glasses are built for English speakers, Kaze is designed for the Indian context. If you want to know what a street sign says or identify a local product, this AI will actually “get” it.
Beyond Phones: AI in Your Car
Sarvam is also moving into your dashboard. They’ve partnered with Bosch to bring their conversational AI to vehicle infotainment systems.
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The Experience: You can ask your car, “Do I have enough fuel for this trip?” or “When was my last service?” and get a human-like response.
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Edge AI: Because it runs on “Edge” tech, the response is instant with zero lag, even if you’re driving through a tunnel or a remote area with no signal.
Why it matters: Car voice assistants are notoriously frustrating. By using Sarvam’s Bulbul v3 voice tech, your car finally starts sounding—and thinking—like a helpful passenger rather than a buggy computer.
Quick Specs & Details
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The Model: Powered by Sarvam 30B, a compact model that fits into megabytes of space.
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Partners: HMD Global (Nokia), Bosch (Automotive), and Qualcomm (Hardware).
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Availability: Feature phone rollout starts in the “coming months”; Kaze glasses arrive in May.
My Take: We often talk about the “digital divide,” but Sarvam is actually building the bridge. Bringing 10-language, offline AI to a basic Nokia phone is a total game-changer for digital inclusion in India.
