Sarvam becomes India's newest AI unicorn with $234 million funding round led by HCLTech | TechCrunch

Last day to exhibit your breakthrough to 10,000+ tech leaders at Disrupt is on Oct 2. Book Exhibit Table Now. Disrupt doors open Oct. 13. Get your pass and bring someone with you at 50% off. REGISTER NOW. Sarvam has raised $234 million at a $1.5 billion valuation, the company announced on Monday. The Bengaluru-based company is now India’s newest AI unicorn, as governments and companies seek greater control over critical artificial intelligence technologies and computing infrastructure. And $150 million of that money will come from HCLTech, the IT subsidiary of Indian conglomerate HCL Group and lead strategic investor in the round. Bessemer Venture Partners also participated alongside existing backers Khosla Ventures and Peak XV Partners. Sarvam hopes to raise a total of $300 million for its Series B round. The investment comes more than two years after Sarvam raised $41 million across its seed and Series A rounds, and follows the startup’s launch of its open source models in 30 billion- and 105 billion-parameters earlier this year. The new funding also reflects a broader push by countries and companies to develop sovereign AI capabilities amid growing concerns over access to advanc