India just got a new AI unicorn, and it comes with a big bet from one of the country's oldest tech giants.

Sarvam, a Bengaluru-based artificial intelligence startup, announced Monday that it raised $234 million at a $1.5 billion valuation. The company is now India's newest unicorn — a startup valued at over $1 billion — as the government and businesses push for more control over AI technologies and the computing power behind them.

HCLTech, the IT services arm of the Indian conglomerate HCL Group, led the round with a $150 million investment. That's the biggest single check. Bessemer Venture Partners also joined, along with existing backers Khosla Ventures and Peak XV Partners. Sarvam plans to raise a total of $300 million in its Series B round, meaning this $234 million is just the first close.

The timing matters. Countries around the world are scrambling to build their own AI capabilities rather than rely entirely on US or Chinese companies. India, with its massive tech workforce and growing digital economy, wants homegrown AI models that understand local languages, regulations, and business needs. Sarvam is positioned right in that gap.

The company hasn't said exactly what it will build with the new cash, but the money is clearly meant for infrastructure — think data centers, chips, and the expensive hardware needed to train large language models. That's the kind of capital-intensive work that usually requires deep-pocketed strategic partners like HCLTech.

For context, HCLTech is one of India's Big Four IT firms, alongside TCS, Infosys, and Wipro. It reported revenue of over $13 billion in its last fiscal year. The company has been expanding its AI services for clients, and backing Sarvam gives it direct access to proprietary AI tech.

Sarvam was founded in 2023 by Vivek Raghavan and Pratyush Kumar, both of whom previously worked on AI projects at Microsoft and Google. The startup has been relatively quiet about its products, but it has focused on building AI models that work well for Indian languages and contexts — a market that global players often overlook.

The $1.5 billion valuation puts Sarvam among the top-funded AI startups in India, alongside companies like Krutrim (backed by Ola's Bhavish Aggarwal) and CoRover.ai. The Indian AI startup ecosystem raised over $1.2 billion in 2025, and this deal suggests 2026 could be even bigger.

The phrase "sovereign AI" is key. It means AI systems that are built, owned, and controlled within a country's borders — not dependent on foreign cloud providers or models that might be subject to sanctions or data laws. India's government has been pushing for this, especially after concerns about data privacy and national security with foreign AI tools.

Sarvam now has the capital to go after that vision. But it also has competition. Reliance Industries has been investing in AI infrastructure, and the government itself is backing a national AI compute facility. The race is on.

  • Sarvam raised $234 million at a $1.5 billion valuation, becoming India's newest AI unicorn
  • HCLTech led the round with a $150 million investment
  • Bessemer Venture Partners, Khosla Ventures, and Peak XV Partners also participated
  • Sarvam plans to raise a total of $300 million in its Series B round
  • Founded in 2023 by Vivek Raghavan and Pratyush Kumar, both ex-Microsoft and Google AI researchers
  • Indian AI startups raised over $1.2 billion in 2025