Google India's Latest AI Announcements
Google India has unveiled its latest AI models, tools, and initiatives for the developer community in the country at the Google I/O Connect Bengaluru 2024 event. With over 1.5 million developers using its Gemini models worldwide through Google AI Studio, India stands as one of the key developer hubs.
Democratising AI for Indian Developers
At the Google I/O Connect Bengaluru 2024, Google emphasized its commitment to democratizing AI for Indian developers, focusing on three primary AI areas: multimodal, multilingual, and mobile development. The company announced a partnership with MeitY Startup Hub to train 10,000 startups in AI, providing expanded access to AI models like Gemini and Gemma, introducing new language tools from Google DeepMind India, and enhancing software development processes with AI-powered features, all while upholding responsible AI practices.
Support for AI Startups
Google has pledged to support AI startups with up to $3,50,000 in Google Cloud credits to aid in cloud infrastructure investment crucial for AI development and deployment. Additionally, startups will benefit from AI-first programming and curriculum through initiatives like Startup School and Appscale Academy.
Advanced AI Models
The Gemini AI model by Google enables the analysis of vast amounts of text, image, video, and code within seconds. With the recently launched Gemini 1.5 Pro featuring a 2 million token context window, developers in India now have access to enhanced capabilities previously limited to select users.
Google also introduced Gemma 2, the latest iteration of open models, aimed at fostering responsible AI innovation. Gemma 2 boasts enhanced performance and built-in safety features.
Open-Source Initiatives
Through Project Vaani in collaboration with the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Google has completed Phase 1, providing developers with extensive speech data across 58 languages. In Phase 2, the project aims to expand its reach to cover all states in India, spanning 160 districts.
AI in Agriculture
Google plans to launch the Agricultural Landscape Understanding (ALU) Research API to facilitate data-driven and efficient agricultural practices in India's farming sector.
Google Maps Platform and Collaboration with ONDC
For developers leveraging the Google Maps Platform, Google has reduced pricing by up to 70% on most APIs to support the development of location-based solutions. Additionally, in collaboration with the government's Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC), Google is offering developers up to 90% off on select Google Maps Platform APIs for ONDC projects.
