AI startup's open-plan office in Bengaluru with data dashboards.
India’s burgeoning tech landscape welcomed its 130th unicorn as artificial intelligence startup Sarvam AI announced a $234 million Series B funding round, led by HCLTech. The investment values the company at $1.5 billion, signaling a significant shift in the development and commercialization of AI within India.
HCLTech injected $150 million for a 10.46% stake, with participation from existing investors including Bessemer Venture Partners, Khosla Ventures, and Peak XV Partners. Sarvam AI intends to close the round at $300 million. The capital infusion will support research, enhance computing infrastructure, and drive broader deployment of its AI models, particularly those tailored for Indian languages and enterprise applications.
Founded in 2023, Sarvam AI has rapidly evolved, moving from initial models like OpenHathi-v1 to advanced large language models such as Sarvam-30B and Sarvam-105B. The company reports processing over 2 million daily conversations and 10 million daily API calls, with its voice AI capabilities emerging as a key revenue driver. Its FY26 revenue saw a substantial jump to ₹45.1 crore from ₹1.5 crore a year prior.
Sarvam AI is also expanding its reach by opening its conversational AI platform to small businesses through self-serve onboarding and free usage tiers. Strategic infrastructure bets include smart glasses and an orbital data center project with Pixxel, slated for a late 2026 launch. Despite early developer feedback highlighting areas for improvement in tooling and format support, the company’s rapid growth and significant funding underscore its ambitious trajectory.
In parallel, fintech firm Razorpay has taken a significant step towards its public market debut by filing its Draft Red Herring Prospectus (DRHP) with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) through the confidential pre-filing route. The company is reportedly seeking to raise up to $600 million at a valuation of $5 billion to $6 billion, a decrease from its previous private valuation of $7.5 billion. Founded in 2014, Razorpay offers a comprehensive suite of payment and financial services for businesses. This move comes amidst a wave of Indian startups preparing for IPOs, with companies like Zepto also filing their DRHPs, though others like PhonePe and Curefoods have postponed their listings due to market conditions.
Other notable developments include ONDC’s launch of DigiDukaan to digitize B2B procurement for kirana stores, Zetwerk’s reported FY26 operating revenue of ₹15,900 crore and its ongoing IPO preparations, virtual reality startup AutoVRse securing $2.4 million for international expansion, and insights into May’s UPI transaction data showing a slight market share shift among major players.
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