Zoho, a leading Indian software-as-a-service (SaaS) company, has embarked on an ambitious project to develop its own large language model (LLM), aiming to rival OpenAI’s GPT and Google’s PaLM 2 models. The initiative is under the direct supervision of Zoho’s founder and CEO, Sridhar Vembu, and is being executed by the company’s dedicated research and development team based in India.
With a decade-long focus on artificial intelligence (AI), Zoho has been actively exploring ways to leverage this technology to meet customer demands. Just recently, the company unveiled its integration with ChatGPT across 13 of its applications, effectively responding to customer needs in real-time.
During a press event held in Delhi on June 14, Praval Singh, Vice President of Marketing and Customer Experience at Zoho, shed light on the company’s AI initiatives. He stated, “In the short term, we have successfully integrated ChatGPT. However, we are also developing our own proprietary large language models capable of summarizing, paraphrasing, and adapting to new tasks. While we haven’t set a specific timeline for this project, we are committed to delivering powerful AI capabilities to our users.”
Zoho’s announcement to build LLMs comes in the wake of a recent controversy sparked by a comment from Sam Altman, the founder and CEO of OpenAI. Altman expressed skepticism about the feasibility of an Indian startup with a $10 million funding to work on a foundational LLM, deeming it “hopeless.”
With Sridhar Vembu at the helm, Zoho is determined to prove the doubters wrong and establish its presence in the AI landscape. The company’s relentless pursuit of cutting-edge technology and its emphasis on meeting customer needs have positioned it as a formidable contender in the race to develop advanced language models. As Zoho sets its sights on the future, the industry eagerly awaits the unveiling of its proprietary LLMs, expected to push the boundaries of AI capabilities.
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