Sarvam AI has emerged from stealth mode, revealing it has secured $41 million in funding for its endeavors as a five-month-old startup in India. The funding spans both Seed and Series A rounds, with Lightspeed leading the Series A and co-leading the Seed with Peak XV Partners. Additional participation in the Series A round comes from Peak XV and Khosla Ventures.
Based in Bengaluru, Sarvam AI is focused on developing comprehensive generative AI solutions for the Indian market. The startup, which currently employs around eighteen individuals, is actively constructing large language models (LLMs) with native language support. According to Sarvam AI’s Vivek Raghavan, the startup is also working on a platform enabling businesses to utilize LLMs for various purposes, encompassing app development, deployment on popular channels, log monitoring, and customized evaluations.
An essential aspect of Sarvam AI’s strategy involves prioritizing voice as the primary interface in India, aligning with its commitment to supporting local languages and catering specifically to the Indian market’s needs.
Raghavan explained, “This requires us to change the architecture of existing open models and to train them in custom ways to teach the new language. The advantage is that the resultant models are more efficient (in terms of tokens consumed) for understanding and generating Indian language than any of the existing LLMs.”
Founded by Raghavan and Pratyush Kumar, both of whom have prior experience at tech ventures such as Nandan Nilekani-backed AI4Bharat of IIT Madras and UIDAI, Sarvam AI aims to unveil its first model to the public in the coming weeks.
The investment in Sarvam AI reflects the global trend of investors seeking opportunities in breakthrough AI technologies. Despite India’s significant presence in the startup landscape, it has yet to make a substantial impact in the rapidly advancing field of AI. Sarvam AI seeks to address this gap, with ambitions to develop expertise in building AI specifically tailored for the Indian context.
Khosla Ventures founder Vinod Khosla emphasized the strategic importance of developing GenAI models for sovereign efforts, stating, “We need companies like Sarvam AI to develop deep expertise for building AI in and for India.” Lightspeed’s Hemant Mohapatra praised Sarvam AI’s unique approach, combining model innovation and application development to create “population-scale” solutions for India.
Sarvam AI’s swift funding rounds also drew attention, with sources noting that Peak XV and Lightspeed India took less than a week to invest in the startup’s seed funding round. Harshjit Sethi, Managing Director of Peak XV, commended the team’s caliber, citing Vivek’s expertise in large-scale systems and Pratyush’s domain knowledge in AI as key strengths for building population-scale AI applications.
