Sarvam in Talks to Raise Up to $250 Million From NVIDIA, Accel and HCLTech: Report

Sarvam AI is in advanced discussions to raise between $200 million and $250 million in a new funding round, according to a report by Moneycontrol.

The round is expected to include participation from NVIDIA, venture capital firm Accel and IT services major HCLTech, reflecting growing strategic interest in India’s AI ecosystem.

Sarvam is said to be targeting a valuation of around $1.5 billion, marking a more than sevenfold increase in just two years. Sources told Moneycontrol that negotiations remain ongoing and the final size of the round could change as additional investors explore participation.

The involvement of strategic backers is seen as significant. Sarvam already relies on NVIDIA’s chips for training and deploying its models, while a partnership with HCLTech could enable the large-scale enterprise deployment of its AI solutions. Accel’s participation, meanwhile, would provide both capital and access to global markets.

If completed, the deal would represent one of the largest private funding rounds for an Indian startup this year and the biggest investment to date in a pure-play domestic AI company. It would also mark a rare instance of a major Indian IT services firm taking a direct strategic stake in an AI start-up.

Sarvam last raised $41 million in a Series A round in December 2023, led by Lightspeed with participation from Peak XV Partners and Khosla Ventures.

Investor interest has intensified following the company’s launch of two large language models—a 30 billion-parameter and a 105 billion-parameter model—at the India AI Impact Summit in February. The company claims its models deliver competitive performance, particularly across Indian languages, at a lower cost than some global alternatives.