Avataar AI has launched Varya, a faster, cheaper video generation model tailored for India's cultural context, as part of the government's India AI Mission. The model, built by refining Alibaba's Wan 2.2, produces videos 10 times faster at a fraction of the cost, addressing affordability and cultural relevance for India's video-first market. Varya will be available as an open-weight model on India's AI Kosh portal, enabling broader access and customization.

Avataar AI, one of 12 startups selected for India's $1.2 billion AI Mission, has launched Varya, a video generation model trained to recognize local cultural elements like festivals, food, and clothing. Built by distilling Alibaba's Wan 2.2 model, Varya runs roughly 10 times faster and at about a 20x lower price than rivals like Veo, Kling, and Runway, charging around $0.005 per second of video. The model will be released as open-weight on India's AI Kosh portal, allowing developers to self-host or modify it.