India's AI race just got its boldest valuation call yet. Bengaluru-based Sarvam, the Indian-language AI startup backed by HCLTech and Nvidia, is in talks to raise $250-300 million at a $3 billion valuation, according to a report by ETtech published on Tuesday.
If the round closes, it would double the startup's valuation in just four months and make it the most valuable AI startup in the country.
A doubling in four months
The top-up talks come remarkably fast on the heels of Sarvam's June raise, when it secured more than $300 million at a $1.5 billion valuation. That round was led by HCLTech, with Nvidia and IndiGo Ventures participating in a $75 million extension.
Bessemer Venture Partners, Khosla Ventures and Peak XV Partners are also among the startup's backers.
People familiar with the discussions told ETtech that the talks are still at an early stage, and that Sarvam is engaging with large domestic enterprises and institutions with the aim of keeping a significant shareholding in Indian hands. Both the final amount raised and the valuation could still change.
Building India's sovereign AI stack
Founded by Vivek Raghavan and Pratyush Kumar, Sarvam builds Indian-language AI models and applications for government agencies and businesses, with a focus on banks and insurers. Its customers include Life Insurance Corp. of India, SBI Life, IDFC First Bank, Tata Capital and Cred.
The Maharashtra government has also approved the deployment of Sarvam's Indus AI workspace across state departments fo
The company has been moving fast on its full-stack ambitions. At its flagship developer event in July, Sarvam outlined plans for a trillion-parameter model and a San Francisco office to recruit researchers, with planned models targeting coding, cybersecurity and scientific research.
It has since brought on Devendra Singh Chaplot, a founding member of Thinking Machines Lab and Mistral, as an advisor, and hired Sashikumar Sreedharan, the former head of Google Cloud in India, as president and chief business officer.
What the top-up would mean
The new funding, if it materializes, would give Sarvam fresh firepower to build larger models and the computing infrastructure needed for enterprise deployments.
It also lands at a moment when India's AI ecosystem is drawing record capital: the government has declared AI and semiconductors a national priority, and domestic capital is pouring into deep-tech startups.
For India's sovereign-AI ambitions, Sarvam's trajectory is the clearest proof point yet that Indian-language AI has moved from research bet to enterprise-scale business — and that investors are willing to pay up for it.
By Hamza Faisal
