Sudarshan Kamath

About Sudarshan in his own words.

I have been working in AI for the past 6-7 years after graduating from IIT Guwahati, one of India's most prestigious technical institutions. I worked in the core team of Toppr.com, an edtech company that was acquired by BYJUs for over 150M USD, building the data strategy that accelerated our user growth leading to this acquisition. Post this, I have worked in Bosch building level 3 and above self-driving vehicles for Europe, US, and Japan. Before starting my current role, I was lead product manager and data scientist at Zolvit, India's largest legal-tech firm where I led 0-1 growth for India's largest collection of AI-powered legal judgments and built a legal copilot for lawyers reporting directly to the Founder and CPO.

Currently, at Smallest.ai, a company I founded in October 2023, I have raised around 1 million USD in pre-seed funding from renowned investors like 3one4 Capital and Better Capital at a $6 million valuation. Today, Smallest.ai has grown into a thriving team of 10+ engineers and data scientists who share a vision of building hyper-personalized multi-modal AI for all humans through customizable small language models. Our team pioneered the world’s first AI voice model capable of generating hyper-realistic, multilingual speech in under 100 milliseconds. This groundbreaking development allows businesses to leverage voice as an affordable and effective customer interface, cutting costs by up to 8x and increasing engagement by nearly double. Our model is now used by major digital commerce platforms, voice bots, and telephony providers, setting new standards for the industry and marking a first-of-its-kind achievement in real-time voice AI.

Beyond technological innovation, I am deeply committed to mentorship and community leadership, having personally guided over 100 senior data scientists, many of whom now contribute significantly to leading organizations like Amazon, Google, and Meta. I moderate one of India’s largest Machine Learning communities, fostering an environment where young professionals and students can grow, collaborate, and learn about practical applications of AI. My dedication to breaking down barriers to entry in AI involves partnerships with non-profits like People Plus AI, run by Indian Billionaire Nandan Nilekani, where we educate communities on the transformative, empowering potential of AI rather than viewing it as a threat. This work includes Project Sthaan, where voice AI assists over one million delivery drivers in India, in finding the location for last-mile delivery addresses that are otherwise difficult to find. I have also actively contributed to major open-source projects such as MMDET - the world's largest collection of object detection AI algorithms and Coqui XTTS V2 - The best open-source text-to-speech model.

My work in AI, supported by strong public evidence, positions me as a responsible advocate for inclusive and ethical AI development. I am excited about the opportunity to contribute to IICSPA’s esteemed network and to further my efforts in responsible tech innovation alongside leaders who share my passion for creating a sustainable and ethical digital future.