Sarvam to build AI for Indian military
What's the story
Artificial intelligence (AI) start-up Sarvam has signed a five-year memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Ministry of Defence. The deal is aimed at developing and deploying AI applications for India's armed forces. The agreement was signed with the Headquarters Integrated Defence Staff (HQ IDS). It will cover projects across the Indian Army, Navy, and Air Force as well as joint organizations under HQ IDS.
Strategic goal
'AI in India, for India'
Pratyush Kumar, the co-founder of Sarvam, said their mission is "to build AI in India, for India." He emphasized that the main objective is to integrate India's intelligence into systems it relies on.
The MoU will see Sarvam design and deploy AI applications for military operations, training, and decision support. It will also provide technical support across multiple projects involving all three services with HQ IDS facilitating coordination.
National security
Indigenous AI focus
The MoU comes as part of the Indian government's self-reliance push in defense, with indigenous AI being a key focus area.
The proposed applications will include decision support, target acquisition, and data fusion across the sensor-to-shooter loop.
The framework envisages deploying AI systems on sovereign infrastructure while retaining human oversight over operational decisions.
Technological collaboration
Access to common tech stack
The MoU also gives the three services and joint organizations access to a common tech stack of foundation models, agentic AI infrastructure, and geospatial and perception systems.
This will allow them to share learnings and build on capabilities developed through individual projects.
The work will be carried out by Chanakya, Sarvam's firewalled division focused on security and defense, using its AI technology stack including Sarvam 105B foundation model.
Future projects
Exploring AI fabric for defense
Under the MoU, Sarvam and HQ IDS will also explore projects aimed at creating an AI fabric connecting different elements of India's defense capabilities.
Kumar said it is an honor to work with the three services on national defense. He added that they are committed to delivering on this mandate while maintaining high standards in their work.