The ability to run advanced AI models directly on smartphones is transforming the mobile landscape. Foundry Local for Android simplifies the integration of generative AI models, allowing teams to deliver sophisticated, secure, and low-latency AI experiences natively on mobile devices. This post highlights Foundry Local for Android as a compelling solution for Android developers, helping them efficiently build and deploy powerful on-device AI capabilities within their applications.
The Challenges of Deploying AI on Mobile Devices
On-device AI offers the promise of offline capabilities, enhanced privacy, and low-latency processing. However, implementing these capabilities on mobile devices introduces several technical obstacles:
- Limited computing and storage: Mobile devices operate with constrained processing power and storage compared to traditional PCs. Even the most compact language models can occupy significant space and demand substantial computational resources. Efficient solutions for model and runtime optimization are critical for successful deployment.
- Concerns about the app size: Integrating large AI models and libraries can dramatically increase application size, reducing install rates and degrading other app features. It remains a challenge to provide advanced AI capabilities while keeping the application compact and efficient.
- Complexity of development and integration: Most mobile development teams are not specialized in machine learning. The process of adapting, optimizing, and deploying models for mobile inference can be resource intensive. Streamlined APIs and pre-optimized models simplify integration and accelerate time to market.
Introducing Foundry Local for Android
Foundry Local is designed as a comprehensive on-device AI solution, featuring pre-optimized models, a cross-platform inference engine, and intuitive APIs for seamless integration. Initially announced at //Build 2025 with support for Windows and MacOS desktops, Foundry Local now extends its capabilities to Android in private preview. You can sign up for the private preview https://aka.ms/foundrylocal-androidprp for early evaluation and feedback.
To meet the demands of production deployments, Foundry Local for Android is architected as a dedicated Android app paired with an SDK. The app manages model distribution, hosts the AI runtime, and operates as a specialized background service. Client applications interface with this service using a lightweight Foundry Local Android SDK, ensuring minimal overhead and streamlined connectivity.
- One Model, Multiple Apps: Foundry Local centralizes model management, ensuring that if multiple applications utilize the same model in Foundry Local, it is downloaded and stored only once. This approach optimizes storage and streamlines resource usage.
- Minimal App Footprint: Client applications are freed from embedding bulky machine learning libraries and models. This avoids ballooning app size and memory usage.
- Run Separately from Client Apps: The Foundry Local operates independently of client applications. Developers benefit from continuous enhancements without the need for frequent app releases.
Customer Story: PhonePe
PhonePe, one of India's largest consumer payments platforms that enables access to payments and financial services to hundreds of millions of people across the country. With Foundry Local, PhonePe is enabling AI that allows their users to gain deeper insights into their transactions and payments behavior directly on their mobile device. And because inferencing happens locally, all data stays private and secure. This collaboration addresses PhonePe's key priority of delivering an AI experience that upholds privacy. Foundry Local enables PhonePe to differentiate their app experience in a competitive market using AI while ensuring compliance with privacy commitments.
Explore their journey here: PhonePe Product Showcase at Microsoft Ignite 2025
Call to Action
Foundry Local equips Android apps with on-device AI, supporting the development of smarter applications for the future. Developers are able to build efficient and secure AI capabilities into their apps, even without extensive expertise in artificial intelligence. See more about Foundry Local in action in this episode of Microsoft Mechanics: https://aka.ms/FL_IGNITE_MSMechanics
We look forward to seeing you light up AI capabilities in your Android app with Foundry Local. Don’t miss our private preview: https://aka.ms/foundrylocal-androidprp. We appreciate your feedback, as it will help us make our product better.
Thanks to the contribution from NimbleEdge which delivers real-time, on-device personalization for millions of mobile devices. NimbleEdge's mobile technology expertise helps Foundry Local deliver a better experience for Android users.
Microsoft