India’s artificial intelligence ecosystem may soon get its first unicorn of 2026 as Bengaluru-based AI startup Sarvam is reportedly in discussions to raise between $200 million and $250 million from global technology giant Nvidia, venture capital firm Accel, and IT services major HCLTech.
According to sources familiar with the matter, the funding round is still under negotiation and may see participation from additional investors. If finalized, this would become the largest funding round for a pure-play AI startup in India and one of the biggest private market investments in the country this year.
Strategic investors could accelerate Sarvam’s growth
Sarvam already relies on Nvidia’s advanced AI chips for training its models, making the potential partnership strategically aligned. Meanwhile, HCLTech’s participation could help the IT company integrate Sarvam’s AI capabilities into enterprise solutions and scale AI adoption among its global clients.
Accel’s involvement, on the other hand, could help Sarvam expand internationally while providing the capital required to strengthen its research and product development efforts.
Sources indicate that Sarvam’s valuation has surged to around $1.5 billion, representing more than 7x growth in just two years, highlighting strong investor confidence in India’s AI innovation space.
Funding discussions still ongoing
People aware of the discussions say the final investment amount could change as more investors continue to show interest in the company.
While Sarvam, Nvidia, and Accel have not officially commented on the development, HCLTech stated that it does not comment on market speculation.
Recent AI launches driving investor interest
Investor enthusiasm around Sarvam has increased following the startup’s recent launch of two large language models (LLMs), including a 30-billion parameter model and a 105-billion parameter model, both developed and trained in India.
The company showcased these models at the India AI Impact Summit held in New Delhi earlier this year. Sarvam claims its models deliver strong performance in Indian languages and can compete with global AI models while maintaining lower operating costs.
Co-founder Pratyush Kumar had earlier indicated that their models perform particularly well in Indian language benchmarks compared to several international alternatives.
Building India’s sovereign AI ecosystem
Founded in July 2023 by Vivek Raghavan and Pratyush Kumar, Sarvam focuses on building indigenous foundation AI models and enterprise GenAI platforms. Both founders previously worked with AI4Bharat, an initiative backed by Infosys co-founder Nandan Nilekani.
Sarvam is also emerging as a key contributor to India’s sovereign AI ambitions. Through the government-backed IndiaAI Mission, which has a planned investment of around ₹10,000 crore, the company has already received significant GPU infrastructure support.
The startup reportedly secured access to 4,096 Nvidia H100 GPUs through Yotta Data Services, supported by nearly ₹99 crore in government subsidies, making it one of the largest beneficiaries of the program so far.
India’s AI startup race heating up
Sarvam is among a handful of Indian startups working on foundational AI models. Other notable players include conversational AI startup Gnani.ai and BharatGen, a sovereign AI initiative led by IIT Bombay.
As India accelerates its push toward building domestic AI capabilities, investments like this could play a crucial role in reducing dependence on global AI platforms and strengthening the country’s position in the global AI race.
If the funding round closes successfully, Sarvam will not only join India’s unicorn club but could also signal a new wave of deep-tech and AI investments in the country.