LankaGPT prepares to launch revolutionary Sigiriya AI platform in July 2024
In an era were Artificial Intelligence (AI) is rapidly evolving and transforming enterprise on a global scale, LankaGPT proudly announces the upcoming launch of Sigiriya AI. This groundbreaking tool was developed by a team of 30, spread across Sri Lanka, United States, and Dubai, is geared to launch in July 2024. Sigiriya AI is the first of its kind, built by Sri Lankans for Sri Lankan locally and overseas.
The initial version of Sigiriya AI will be a text-based platform is designed to support Sinhala and Tamil and will encompass various dialects, regional phrasing and pronunciation nuances. The tool was created using collection of proprietary data sets including 10 billion Sinhala data sets and 10 billion Tamil data sets, developed in partnership with a multitude of academic institutions.
The platform aims to penetrate the Sri Lankan market and extend its reach to regions that hold a significant population of Sri Lankans including the Middle East, Canada, Australia and more. The platform also recognises the vast Tamil speaking communities around the world, including India, Singapore, Malaysia and other Southeast Asian countries.
Mr. Lasitha Gunasinghe, Co-Founder & Managing Director of LankaGPT Technologies (Pvt) Ltd – “At LankaGPT, we recognised and understood the role AI could play in enhancing economic and social landscape. For this reason, we are deeply committed to providing this tool free of charge to education, agriculture and healthcare sectors, with the hope of driving innovation, empowering communities and fostering sustainable development. Sigiriya AI underscores the rapid need to leverage technology to support crucial sectors which contribute to economic stability, and we believe that free access to AI can help create lasting positive impacts on society. “
Sigiriya AI represents a significant achievement for the country, and it showcases the ability of LankaGPT to compete on a global scale. This initiative has been made possible through collaborations with a multitude of non-profit organisations dedicated to the upliftment and wellbeing of Sri Lankan communities around the world.
Image Caption – Left to right: Mr. Lakshitha Karunarathna Co – Founder and Director of LankaGPT , Mr. Lasitha Gunasinghe, Co-Founder & Managing Director of LankaGPT, Mr. Kasun Gunasinghe Co – Founder and Director of LankaGPT
LankaGPT – FAQ
Founders:
1) Tell us about LankaGPT, what lead to the creation of the company.
The founders Lasitha Gunasinghe, Kasun Gunasinghe together with Lakshitha Karunaratne formed the idea of a Sri Lankan centric AI platform and found the company together to be of service to Sri Lanka, to create an AI platform from scratch that also help preserve our native languages of Sinhala and Tamil.
2) Tell us a little bit about the founders of the company.
It is two siblings and a friend who formed the company. Lasitha Gunasinghe and Kasun Gunasinghe come from a background in tech and Lakshitha Karunaratne is a tea taster and a wildlife photographer and the three of them have a friendship with each other for over Thirty-Five years.
3) How did you all connect despite being spread across the world?
Lasitha, Kasun and Lakshitha have a long history of friendship. Lasitha and Kasun are based in the U.S and Lakshitha is here in Sri Lanka and their friendship has made it possible to do this project together.
4) Who has LankaGPT partnered with to develop Sigiriya AI?
The three co-founders run the entire operation. The developers for the project are spread across Sri Lanka, India, the UK and the U.S who have worked on this project tirelessly for 18 months. They currently have in house as well as outsourced developers working with them.
5) What are the future goals for the company? What else can we expect?
They are working on two global scale tech projects. Await more details soon.
Product:
6) Tell us what inspired the creation of Sigiriya AI and when will it be launched in full?
AI tools such as Gemini, Anthropod, ChatGPT which are in the global scale do not have much space for Sinhala and Tamil languages as we use them. These languages that are so dear to us are on verge of dying out. Preserving them was one aspect of coming up with Sigiriya. On the other hand, the founders did not want yet another API but a foundational AI platform where there is 90 – 95% accuracy of language.
Sigiriya AI will be launched by the 2nd week of July. Actual dates will be announced in June.
7) How does it work? What languages does the AI support?
Prompts can be given in any language. But it was built mostly for Sinhala and Tamil.
8) Why does Sri Lanka need an AI tool such as this? How does it benefit?
Our English literacy rate is very high, but the grassroots of Sri Lanka do not have the same access to education or resources. The founders want them to be able to use this platform to better their lives/livelihoods. It needs to reach as wide and as far as possible and help safeguard and preserve Sinhala and Tamil languages.
9) Will the output of this tool be as good or better than existing GPT AI tools?
All AI tools including ChatGPT are evolving rapidly. Sigiriya AI will also evolve. The more you teach the tool, the more it will learn. It started with 10Bn Sinhala data sets and 20Bn Tamil data sets.
Competition:
10) What kind of competition will this AI have locally and globally?
Locally, no other platform is yet built from scratch. In India, Hanuman and in the UAE QX which are regional based AIs. The company is not concerned with international competition as they want to make it a Sri Lankan centric one. It is a unique platform.
11) How does Sigiriya AI differ from its competition?
It is a Sri Lankan centric AI tool which uniquely focuses on our native languages of Sinhala and Tamil.
12) How does Sigiriya AI compare to ChatGPT and similar tools?
Chat GPT and similar tools go through very fast growth and are considered big global players. Because Sigiriya AI is a unique tool, it is not considered to be comparable.
13) Are there any other AI solutions for Sinhala and Tamil Languages?
Not as a foundational tool. There is a significant difference between Sigiriya AI and other API based tools.
Importance to Sri Lanka:
14) What is the significance of Sigiriya AI to Sri Lanka’s digital transformation?
Right from the beginning this AI tool is free to the areas of Agriculture, Healthcare and Education in Sri Lanka. These three pillars which are considered the foundation of the country will benefit massively from this offering. Areas such as Tourism etc, will use this tool on subscription which will be at a minimal cost.
15) Are you targeting any particular markets or segments with this AI?
Sri Lankans living anywhere in the world. This tool is for Sri Lankans, made by Sri Lankans.
16) How important is this to economic and social development of the country? When you have a platform like this where anyone can prompt, entrepreneurship, social responsibility, sustainable development will benefit. Information will always be power. And this tool will empower Sri Lankans, even living in rural areas of the country. After the mobile revolution, this is surely the second revolution with a huge positive impact to people.
17) What could the future hold in terms of further digital transformation for Sri Lanka?
Compared to most the countries in the region, Sri Lanka is in an optimistic place. Our tech companies here have global footing. But to improve our reach however, tools such as Sigiriya AI will help massively as they are built for Sri Lankans by Sri Lankans.
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