In a move aimed at bridging India’s digital divide, IIT Madras, in collaboration with IITM Pravartak Technologies Foundation and California-based Ziroh Labs, has launched the Centre of AI Research (CoAIR). This pioneering initiative focuses on advancing AI technologies that run efficiently on CPUs and edge devices, eliminating the reliance on expensive GPUs and paving the way for inclusive, cost-effective AI deployment across the country.
The partnership was officially announced at an event hosted by IIT Madras, where Ziroh Labs also unveiled the first version of Kompact AI—a versatile AI platform designed to train and serve foundational models using standard CPUs. This innovation directly supports India’s “AI for All” vision by extending AI capabilities to rural and underserved communities, where access to high-end computing resources is limited.
According to Madhusudhanan Baskaran, Principal Consultant at IITM Pravartak Technologies Foundation, “Running AI models on CPUs paves the way for large-scale deployment without heavy investments in infrastructure. With CoAIR, we aim to create domain-specific, actionable AI solutions that serve real-world needs.”
Kompact AI currently supports 17 models—including DeepSeek, Qwen, and Llama—all benchmarked in collaboration with IIT Madras for performance and accuracy on CPU environments. The platform offers offline functionality, making it ideal for remote regions with limited connectivity.
IIT Madras Director V. Kamakoti highlighted the nature-inspired design of the platform, noting that it leverages domain-specific models to deliver accurate insights using affordable compute systems. “This is a key step in preventing an AI divide, ensuring that advanced technologies are not just available to those with access to hyperscale infrastructures,” he added.
The unveiling ceremony was graced by luminaries such as Turing Award recipient Whitfield Diffie and Sun Microsystems co-founder Scott McNealy, underlining the platform’s significance in the global AI landscape.
Ziroh Labs co-founders Hrishikesh Dewan and Igneta DSouza emphasized that Kompact AI is built for adaptability, affordability, and efficiency. “For AI to truly uplift society, it must work under real-world constraints. Kompact AI meets this need by functioning optimally on CPUs and handling task-specific workloads,” they said.
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The platform includes a rich library of AI models spanning text, speech, vision, and multimodal domains. It also introduces the ICAN (Common AI-Language Runtime), supporting over 10 programming languages to simplify development and deployment across platforms.
Unlike many lightweight AI models that compromise on precision, Kompact AI is designed to retain high accuracy even while operating under hardware constraints. It focuses on models with fewer than 50 billion parameters, balancing performance and efficiency.
Sowmya Narayanan Sadagopan, former Director of IIIT Bangalore, praised the initiative as a benchmark for sustainable and frugal innovation in AI. “India has shown it can lead in building high-tech solutions with minimal power and cost requirements,” he remarked.
In a show of industry support, Apoorv Iyer, Executive VP at HCLTech, announced a strategic collaboration with Ziroh Labs. “We commend Ziroh Labs for this transformative step. Making AI more CPU-friendly will massively boost accessibility,” he said.
Looking ahead, CoAIR will focus on building and deploying AI models for high-impact sectors such as agriculture, education, and rural healthcare, empowering India’s grassroots with the tools of tomorrow.
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