AI-focused venture fund Activate has invested in Sarvam as part of the startup's ongoing $300 million funding round
The two firms plan to collaborate on AI startups, enterprise adoption and research talent
Fresh capital will support foundational AI models, computing infrastructure and enterprise deployments
Sarvam Gets Backing From Activate As $300 Mn Funding Round Gains Momentum
Beyond the investment, Activate and Sarvam intend to collaborate in key areas such as supporting India's AI startup ecosystem, and helping digital-first enterprises deploy AI
Sarvam AI cofounders Pratyush Kumar (left) and Vivek Raghavan (right)
Summary
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AI-focused venture fund Activate has announced a strategic investment in Bengaluru-based artificial intelligence (AI) startup Sarvam, joining the company's ongoing $300 million fundraising round.
The development comes a day after Sarvam disclosed that it had secured an additional $75 million from investors including Nvidia, Glade Brook Capital and Gaja Capital.
The latest tranche forms part of the startup's planned $300 million raise, which values the company at around $1.5 billion, as per a report by The Economic Times (ET).
Activate has invested about $15 million in Sarvam. The investment represents the fund's third growth-stage bet, following its investments in voice AI startup ElevenLabs and voice dictation company Wispr Flow, the report said.
Sarvam had previously announced the first close of the funding round led by HCLTech, with participation from Bessemer Venture Partners and existing investors Peak XV Partners and Khosla Ventures.
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The company plans to use the fresh capital to develop next-generation foundational AI models, expand AI computing infrastructure and accelerate enterprise deployments.
Investment Through Dedicated Growth Vehicle
Activate co-founder and Haptik co-founder Aakrit Vaish said the Sarvam investment was executed through a separate special purpose vehicle rather than the firm's core early-stage fund.
"While its core fund invests in young companies, the Sarvam investment was made through a separate special purpose vehicle (SPV) created for growth-stage opportunities," Vaish said, as per ET.
Highlighting Sarvam's position in India's AI landscape, he said enterprise demand for the company's technology is expected to come from multiple sectors.
"Sarvam is probably the most important company of our generation when we think about AI in India," he added.
Focus On Enterprise AI And Research
Beyond the investment, Activate and Sarvam intend to collaborate in three key areas. These include supporting India's AI startup ecosystem, helping digital-first enterprises deploy AI, and strengthening research talent.
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The announcement follows Sarvam's Epoch conference earlier this week, where the startup introduced eight AI offerings spanning coding tools, enterprise AI agents, voice AI, document intelligence and cybersecurity products.
Vaish said these should not be viewed as separate products but as components of a unified enterprise AI platform. He added that most customers are expected to begin with a single capability before gradually expanding their use of the broader platform.