BENGALURU: To take computing to the grassroots and make it more affordable, IT-BT Minister Priyank Kharge announced the launch of KEO — an AI-ready personal computer. Designed, developed, and assembled completely in Karnataka, KEO, which stands for Knowledge-driven, Economical and Open Source, is said to offer a full computing experience at an affordable price.
Without revealing the price or the design, Kharge said Chief Minister Siddaramaiah will officially unveil the device, developed by the Department of Electronics, IT and BT, along with KEONICS (Karnataka State Electronics Development Corporation Limited), at the Bengaluru Tech Summit (BTS) that will be inaugurated on Tuesday.
Addressing reporters at the curtain-raiser of BTS here on Monday, Kharge boasted that no state government anywhere in the world had taken this kind of disruptive tech and said KEO is Karnataka’s answer to bridge the digital divide.
KEO will take computing to grassroots: Min
Explaining why the state government jumped into developing KEO, he said, “Less than 10% of Indian households use computers, which is 15% in Karnataka. Over 60% Indian students are not able to access online learning opportunities due to a lack of devices, and that is directly contributing to higher dropout rates. We intend to take computing to the grassroots and make it affordable now and cheaper in the future.”
He said KEO has been developed to ensure that every student, engineer, creator, innovator and household has access to a powerful and intelligent computer, not at the top of the pyramid, but at the grassroots. Kharge said it is not a ‘luxury device’, but an ‘inclusion device’ and that it breaks the cost and technology barrier.
“We missed the previous electronic revolution, but through KEO, we will be accelerating the future of Indian IT from Karnataka,” Kharge said.
Kharge said those interested can start to pre-book it from the keonext.in and get the product delivered in two months. Already, 500 bookings have come from an organisation, and it will be used in primary and high schools. “KEO will be deployed across schools, universities, small businesses, government offices and homes. KEO will be showcased to the public throughout the BTS, allowing students, startups, industry leaders and visitors understand its role in enabling mass-affordable, AI-ready computing across the state,” he said.
Kharge said BTS would bring together global leaders, innovators, think tanks and policy-makers from across the globe and said the theme of the 28th edition of the summit is ‘futurise’.
Full computing experience
Built on an open-source RISC-V processor with a Linux-based OS, KEO offers a full computing experience at an accessible price point. It features 4G, wi-fi, ethernet, USB-A and USB-C ports, HDMI, and audio jack support and comes fully loaded with learning, programming and productivity tools. KEO includes an on-device AI core, enabling AI to run locally without internet access. It comes preloaded with BUDDH, an AI agent trained on the Karnataka DSERT syllabus to assist students even in low-connectivity regions.