Small language models gaining big traction

WHILE LARGE LANGUAGE models (LLMs) like GPT-4 and Gemini capture global headlines and attract major institutional investment — including from the government, which recently tapped four startups to develop them — a quieter but powerful shift is unfolding in the background.

- S SHANTHI

Small language models (SLMs) are rapidly gaining traction in India, driven by their affordability, efficiency, and real-world relevance in resource-constrained environments.

There's a reason for this. Unlike their larger counterparts, SLMs are compact, energy-efficient, and designed to operate directly on local devices, without needing continuous cloud access. Startup founders say this makes them well-suited for Indian use cases, especially in regions with limited Internet connectivity or variable computing infrastructure.

"SLMs are in demand because they are ideal for building affordable, energy-efficient, and privacy-friendly AI solutions," said Ankush Sabharwal, founder and CEO of CoRover, a conversational AI platform. "They can run directly on devices without needing cloud servers, protect sensitive data, and lower both cost and energy usage."

To meet this growing demand, CoRover launched BharatGPT Mini, a compact SLM, in December 2024. In less than five months, most of the platform's 18,000 users — spanning enterprises, researchers, and developers — have adopted the model. The company now expects a 60-70% increase in project volume over the next year, with a target of crossing one million implementations.