HMD CEO Ravi Kunwar On Rajasthan Royals Partnership And Sarvam AI To Bring AI To Feature Phones

HMD CEO & VP, India and APAC, Ravi Kunwar talks to Business Today about the company’s partnership with IPL team Rajasthan Royals, and a new collaboration with Sarvam AI. IPL team Rajasthan Royals and HMD have entered the 3rd year of their partnership, with HMD now becoming the associate sponsor of the team along with being the official smartphone partner. The HMD logo will be visible on the Rajasthan Royals' cap and helmet. HMD and Sarvam AI are working towards integrating AI within HMD smartphones and feature phones, making artificial intelligence accessible to Tier-4 and Tier-5 cities using voice calling, a technology previously showcased by Sarvam. Kunwar explains how using Sarvam's technology, feature phone users, even in the remotest parts of the country, can access AI services simply by making a voice call. The technology would require no internet connectivity and would be in-built within HMD feature phones and smartphones. A demo of this technology was showcased by Sarvam AI at the India AI Impact Summit, 2026.