BharatGen and Sarvam AI offer foundation models far below rivals
Indian firms BharatGen and Sarvam AI are shaking up the AI scene with foundation models that cost a fraction of what global giants charge.
BharatGen's Param-2 is just ₹5 per million output tokens, while Sarvam's advanced models go for ₹10 and ₹16; compare that to OpenAI's GPT-5 Mini at ₹191 or Google's Gemini 3.5 Flash at a hefty ₹858.
That's a huge price gap.
AI mission aids Indian language models
What sets these firms apart? They're building specialized models for Indian languages instead of trying to cover everything like their global rivals.
Plus, the government's $1.2 billion AI Mission has helped out with GPU subsidies, making it easier to keep prices low for now.
But experts warn these deals might not last if subsidies end, especially as running costs add up.
Sarvam AI has already landed big clients like Razorpay and Swiggy, showing local focus can pay off in more ways than one.