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What is Sarvam, India's AI model praised by Google CEO Pichai and has an edge against ChatGPT, Claude
Sarvam AI also caught Google CEO Sundar Pichai's attention who cited the AI model to highlight how Indian companies have started developing local AI models.
In tune with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's push for homegrown innovation, Sarvam AI has caught the limelight at the India AI Impact Summit 2026 with its indigenous appeal.
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Sarvam AI, an innovation of a Bengaluru-based startup, also caught the attention of Google CEO Sundar Pichai who cited Sarvam AI to highlight how Indian companies have started developing local AI models, signalling that advanced innovation is taking root domestically.
"You know, even recently, the work Sarvam has done developing local AI models, certainly what you're talking about is actually happening. And, you know, I just don't see any impediments to that, and I think it is very, very well positioned," Pichai was quoted as saying by news agency PTI.
What is Sarvam AI?
On Monday, Sarvam AI unveiled a model that it said is made to cater to India’s diverse languages and cultural contexts, giving it an edge against big guns such as ChatGPT and Claude in the AI industry.
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Apart from English, Sarvam AI chatbot is available in 22 Indian languages and claims to have better accuracy for Indian languages than top industry models such as Gemini 3 Pro, Opus 4.5, and GPT-5.2, according to a blog on Sarvam's website.
With the tagline ‘AI for All from India’, Sarvam claims to build a future where AI is accessible to all in India.
“We want India to embrace the most important technological shift of our time with confidence and control. Our ambition is to build foundational components and apply them to the country's unique needs. To this end, we've built a full-stack AI platform, with everything developed, deployed, and governed entirely in India,” the startup says on its website, which also says that the company's goal is to enable creation at scale by “putting state-of-the-art AI in the hands of the community.”
Sarvam was founded by Vivek Raghavan and Pratyush Kumar in August 2023. While, Raghavan has an experience in building India's digital public infrastructure, Kumar has led the country's open-source AI efforts across Indian languages, according to the website.
Sarvam also announced a collaboration with Qualcomm for creating and deploying generative AI solutions for Indian languages and use cases, PTI reported.
The company also announced a partnership with German firm Bosch to bring AI onto car panels.
With inputs from agencies
