Zoho has launched 'Zia', its first LLM model developed in India, capable of handling various business tasks. Along with it, 25+ pre-built AI agents, a bilingual ASR model, and no-code AI tools have also been introduced, keeping the needs of the Indian market in mind.
ZOHO: Indian software company Zoho Corporation has taken a significant step in the world of Artificial Intelligence (AI) by launching its first in-house developed Large Language Model (LLM) – Zia. This step not only reflects the company's technological self-reliance but also indicates that India is now emerging as a global innovator in AI, not just a consumer. This revolutionary announcement grabbed everyone's attention during Zoho's annual user conference 'Zoholics India' held in Bangalore.
Zia LLM: Made in India, Ready for India
Zia LLM has been completely developed in-house by Zoho using NVIDIA's AI-accelerated computing platform. It is coming in three different parameter sizes — 1.3 billion, 2.6 billion, and 7 billion — making it capable of meeting a diverse range of needs across Zoho's various products. The company claims that Zia performs significantly better than other open-source models of similar size. Zoho has clarified that these models are primarily designed for business functions such as data extraction, code generation, summarization, and retrieval-augmented generation (RAG).
From Speech to Text: Offering Bilingual ASR Model
Along with Zia, Zoho has also launched two new Automatic Speech Recognition (ASR) models that support both Hindi and English languages. This feature has been specifically designed keeping the Indian market in mind, where the need to work in local languages is increasing rapidly. In the future, Zoho plans to add other Indian languages such as Tamil, Telugu, Bangla, and Marathi to it.
25+ Pre-built AI Agents: Solutions for Every Business
Zoho has further strengthened its AI ecosystem by introducing more than 25 pre-built AI agents that are already integrated with Zoho's various products. Among these, the prominent agent is 'Ask Zia,' which assists in data analysis, reporting, dashboard creation, and machine learning models. It has now been made capable of handling tasks related to finance and customer service in a better way.
Zia Agent Studio: The Era of No-Code AI Development
Zoho has now made its Zia Agent Studio completely prompt-based, allowing any user to create AI agents without complex coding. These agents can be integrated with Zoho's 700+ action points and can be used in real-time during customer interactions.
AI Agents for Specific Tasks – Candidate Screener and Deal Analyzer
The company has also launched some specific agents, such as:
- Candidate Screener: Which identifies suitable candidates based on role, skill, and experience during the recruitment process.
- Deal Analyzer: Which analyzes business deals and advises on the chances of winning and the next steps.
India-Centric Agents: Making Document Verification Easier
Prioritizing India, Zoho has also launched AI agents that can automatically verify documents such as PAN cards, Aadhaar, Voter IDs, GSTIN, driving licenses, and electricity bills. These agents can especially revolutionize financial and government services.
MCP Server for Third-Party Integration
Zoho has also launched its own in-house MCP server, adopting Anthropic's Model Context Protocol (MCP). This server gives third-party AI agents secure access to Zoho's data and actions under user-defined permissions. In the initial phase, more than 15 Zoho apps are connected to this system, and more will be added in the future.
