Sarvam AI raises $234M Series B, hits $1.5B unicorn valuation

Sarvam AI, a Bengaluru-based sovereign AI startup, has raised $234 million in the first close of its planned $300 million Series B round, giving the company a post-money valuation of $1.5 billion and making it one of India’s newest AI unicorns. The funding was announced on June 15, 2026, and represents a significant step up from the roughly $41 million the company had previously raised across its seed and Series A financings. The Series B round is structured as a larger $300 million raise, with the $234 million marking the initial close.

The round is led by HCLTech as the lead strategic investor, committing $150 million of the total, alongside participation from Bessemer Venture Partners and existing backers Khosla Ventures and Peak XV Partners. The investment pushes Sarvam AI’s valuation to $1.5 billion, a level reported as one of the highest Series B valuations for an Indian startup and a milestone for India’s sovereign AI ambitions. Sarvam AI develops full-stack AI models tailored to Indian languages and enterprise use cases, and the new capital is expected to support further model development and integration with HCLTech’s global enterprise footprint across sectors such as banking, insurance, government, and defense. This deal underscores the growing strategic interest from large IT services players in backing domestic AI infrastructure and model providers rather than relying solely on foreign platforms.