Indian artificial intelligence startup Sarvam AI has signed a five-year memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Ministry of Defence to develop and deploy indigenous AI technologies for the Indian Armed Forces, covering military operations, training and decision-support systems.
The agreement, announced on October 27, 2026, has been signed with Headquarters Integrated Defence Staff (HQ IDS) and establishes a framework for developing AI applications across the Indian Army, Navy and Air Force, along with joint organisations operating under HQ IDS.
Under the collaboration, Sarvam will design and implement AI-powered applications to support military operations, operational planning and training requirements. The company will also provide technical assistance for projects undertaken as part of the agreement.
The proposed applications will focus on decision support, target acquisition and data fusion across the sensor-to-shooter process, which involves collecting, processing and using information from different military systems.
According to the company, the technologies will operate on sovereign infrastructure, with human oversight retained over operational decisions.
The agreement also provides for the development of a common AI technology framework that can be accessed by the three services and associated defence organisations.
This framework will include foundation models, agentic AI infrastructure, geospatial technologies and perception systems. The shared architecture is intended to allow different military units to use common AI capabilities while building applications for their operational requirements.
The projects will be undertaken through Chanakya, Sarvam's dedicated defence and security division, which operates separately from its other business activities.
Chanakya will use Sarvam's existing AI technology infrastructure, including the company's Sarvam 105B foundation model, to develop applications suited to defence requirements.
Sarvam co-founder Pratyush Kumar said the company's objective was to develop AI capabilities within India for domestic requirements.
"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," Kumar said.
The collaboration will also explore the development of an integrated AI framework connecting different elements of India's defence infrastructure. Such a framework could enable information sharing and coordination between AI-enabled systems used by different services.
The agreement comes as India continues to emphasise domestic technology development under its defence self-reliance initiatives, including the adoption of locally developed AI systems.
However, the financial value of the agreement has not been disclosed, and neither party has announced the number of projects, individual deployment timelines or specific operational locations.
The five-year arrangement provides an overarching framework for future projects rather than confirming the immediate deployment of AI systems across the armed forces.
Disclaimer: This article may include information derived from interviews, press releases, public statements, research, company communications and other publicly available or third-party sources. Such material may be summarised, paraphrased or contextualised for journalistic and editorial purposes. All rights in third-party content remain with their respective owners.