Sarvam, an artificial intelligence startup has signed a five‑year memorandum of understanding with Headquarters Integrated Defence Staff and the Ministry of Defence. Sarvam will. Deploy AI applications for India’s armed forces and this partnership feels like a major milestone for Sarvam and for AI, in India.
The agreement will include the Indian Army, Navy and Air Force setting up a shared framework for intelligence projects across all three Services. It will also apply to integrated organizations, under HQ IDS. The financial details of the agreement and the specific projects involved have not been made public.
Under the MoU, Sarvam will develop AI applications aimed at supporting military operations, training and decision-making. The company will also provide technical support for these systems after deployment. The initiative forms part of the government’s broader Atmanirbharta push, extending India’s defence self-reliance efforts into advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence.
“Sarvam exists to build AI in India, for India. The core of that mission is to put the country’s own intelligence into the systems it depends on. To work with the three Services on the nation’s defence is an honour and a privilege,” Sarvam co-founder Pratyush Kumar said. “We are grateful to HQ IDS for its trust, and our team is committed to delivering for all three Services.”
Focus on sovereign AI infrastructure
The defence-focused work will be carried out through Chanakya, Sarvam’s firewalled division dedicated to national security and defence. The division will use Sarvam’s AI technology stack, including foundation models such as Sarvam 105B.
Sarvam and HQ IDS will also explore projects considered critical to India’s defence capabilities, including an AI fabric designed to connect different elements of the country’s defence ecosystem.
Potential applications include decision support, target acquisition and data fusion across the sensor-to-shooter loop. However, the agreement makes clear that human oversight will remain in place for operational decisions.
The proposed AI systems will be developed in India using Indian data and computing infrastructure and deployed on sovereign infrastructure. The armed forces and joint organisations are also expected to gain access to common foundation models, agentic infrastructure, along with geospatial and perception systems.
A shared approach could allow experience, doctrine and lessons from projects developed for one Service to support future AI initiatives across the others.
The agreement comes as militaries worldwide increasingly explore AI for defence applications. Earlier this year, the US government had a fallout with Anthropic over disagreements about how it’s AI could be used in military settings. The Pentagon later signed an agreement with OpenAI.
Sarvam’s partnership with India’s defence establishment marks another step towards developing domestically built AI capabilities for sensitive national-security applications.
