Sarvam AI nears $300M funding at $1.5B valuation
What's the story
Indian artificial intelligence (AI) start-up Sarvam is close to raising between $300 million and $350 million in a funding round expected to be led by Bessemer Venture Partners. The Bengaluru-based company is raising funds at a valuation between $1.5 billion and $1.55 billion. The funding round could close as early as next week, with NVIDIA Corporation, Amazon, and Prosperity7 Ventures also expected to participate.
Unique offering
Sarvam's AI model tailored for Indian languages and culture
Founded in 2023 by Vivek Raghavan and Pratyush Kumar, Sarvam has developed an AI model specifically designed for the languages and cultures of India. The company made headlines at India AI summit in February, where it showcased its unique offering. Sarvam's models can be accessed via voice commands in 22 Indian languages, giving it a competitive edge over global players like OpenAI and Google.
Advanced capabilities
Agentic AI models driving enterprise automation
Sarvam also provides "agentic" AI models, which can perform tasks like coding or meeting planning with minimal human intervention. The company believes its agents could drive enterprise automation in one of the world's fastest-growing economies. Today we show we can bring our own AI to a billion Indians, Kumar said at the unveiling of their unique offering in February.
Investment history
Landmark funding round for Sarvam
Sarvam's latest funding round is set to become the largest private market funding round for an Indian start-up this year. It is also set to become the biggest capital infusion into a pure-play Indian AI start-up to date. This will be Sarvam's first major cash infusion in about two-and-a-half years, after its $41 million Series A funding round in December 2023 led by Lightspeed Ventures with participation from Peak XV Partners and Khosla Ventures.