Cheaper, faster, and culturally aware, Avataar's video AI is built for India's scale
Varya runs 10 times faster than Wan 2.2 and will be released on India AI Kosh with training data for self-hosting.
- On Friday, Bangalore-based Avataar launched Varya, an indigenous, distilled video model designed to make frontier artificial intelligence affordable and culturally relevant for users across India.
- The IndiaAI Mission, a roughly $1.2 billion government initiative, selected Avataar as one of 12 startups to develop AI models using subsidized GPU compute in exchange for public release.
- Distilled from Alibaba's Wan 2.2, Varya runs in four steps rather than 50, producing video 10 times faster. Using an NVIDIA H200 GPU, it generates a 5-second clip in 45 seconds at $0.005 per second.
- Avataar plans to release Varya as an open-weight model on India's AIKosh portal, enabling developers to self-host or modify it. The model renders Indian cultural nuances—festivals, food, clothing—that Western-trained models typically miss.
- Founder Sravanth Aluru, a former Deutsche Bank investment banker and Microsoft alum, says Varya tests whether affordability can drive adoption faster than technically superior, expensive Western alternatives in India's 1.4 billion-person market.
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India's Avataar AI launches a video model that costs $0.005 per second, 27x cheaper than rivals
Bangalore-based Avataar AI has launched Varya, one of India’s first homegrown video AI models. It generates video at roughly $0.005 per second, or 0.48 rupees. Founder Sravanth Aluru, a former Deutsche Bank investment banker and Microsoft and IIT Mumbai alum, says that is 27 times cheaper than comparable open-source video models. The cost advantage comes […] This story continues at The Next Web
Varya: Here Is Avataar AI’s Highly Efficient and Culturally Aware Video Model Developed Under IndiaAI Mission | 📲 LatestLY
Avataar AI has launched Varya, a distilled video generation model designed to bring affordable, culturally-aware AI to India. Supported by the IndiaAI Mission’s subsidised compute, Varya is 10x faster and significantly cheaper than global counterparts. The open-weight model will be available on the IndiaAI Kosh portal, promoting indigenous innovation and accessibility for developers and enterprises nationwide. 📲 Varya: Here Is Avataar AI’s High…
Avataar.ai launches indigenous video model Varya to drive cost-efficient AI accessibility across India
Avataar.ai launched Varya on Friday, an indigenous, distilled video model designed to make frontier video artificial intelligence affordable and culturally relevant for users across India. The model, unveiled at a press event in New Delhi, aims to lower execution costs while accurately representing the country's regional and visual diversity.
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