Sarvam AI Signs Five-Year Defence Deal With India
Sarvam AI signed a five-year agreement with the Headquarters Integrated Defence Staff to develop sovereign AI applications for the Indian Army, Navy, and Air Force.
The Headquarters Integrated Defence Staff (HQ IDS), an arm of the Indian Ministry of Defence, signed a five-year Memorandum of Understanding with Bengaluru-based AI startup Sarvam to develop and deploy artificial intelligence applications for the Indian Army, Navy, and Air Force. The agreement establishes an umbrella framework for AI projects focused on operational capabilities, training, and decision support, specifically targeting data fusion, target acquisition, and the sensor-to-shooter loop.
To maintain national security, the projects will be executed by Chanakya, a firewalled division of Sarvam dedicated to mission-critical applications. The system will utilize Sarvam's AI stack, including the Sarvam 105B foundation model and Saaras speech-recognition models. All AI layers will be built in India and deployed on sovereign infrastructure to ensure data sovereignty and reduce reliance on foreign technology.
This collaboration is part of the Indian government's broader push for Atmanirbharta, or self-reliance, in defence capabilities and coincides with other national efforts like the BharatGen initiative. The framework mandates that human oversight be maintained for all operational decisions.
