IBM and Sarvam Partner to Build Sovereign AI Solutions for Indian Government and Regulated Enterprises

IBM, Sarvam partner to build sovereign AI solutions for Indian government, regulated sectors

Under the partnership, IBM Sovereign Core will provide the underlying software and middleware needed to deploy and govern AI systems, while Sarvam will add its reasoning models and multilingual voice and language technologies. Listen to this article in summarized format Listen × Subscribe to Unlock AI Briefing and Premium Content New Year Offer 24 Hours Left Subscribe Now Already a member? Sign In What's Included * Exclusive Stories * Daily ePaper Access * Smart Market Tools * Curated Investment Ideas * Ad-lite Experience * Subscription IBM and homegrown AI startup Sarvam have entered into a partnership to develop and test sovereign AI solutions for government departments, public sector organisations and regulated enterprises in India. Under the partnership, IBM Sovereign Core will provide the underlying software and middleware needed to deploy and govern AI systems, while Sarvam will add its reasoning models and multilingual voice and language technologies. The partnership will initially target areas such as citizen services, grievance redressal, document processing and administrative workflows. The partnership comes as governments and companies in regulated sectors increasingly explore sovereign AI systems that allow them to retain control over data, infrastructure and model governance. Also read: Sarvam AI plans trillion-parameter model, sets sights on competing with ChatGPT, Gemini and Claude The IBM GovTech AI Innovation Center in Lucknow will act as an incubation and demonstration hub for government departments and enterprises to test applications and assess the technical, operational and governance requirements. "IBM Sovereign Core provides an open, enterprise-grade platform and middleware foundation designed to help governments and regulated enterprises scale AI within environments they trust while addressing governance, security, and compliance requirements. By combining these capabilities with Sarvam's India-first AI technologies, we aim to help organizations operationalize sovereign AI and accelerate the journey from experimentation to production-scale outcomes," said Sriram Raghavan, General Manager, IBM Software, India and Software Innovation Lab. Sarvam said its technology would allow government services to be offered through Indian languages and voice-based interfaces, including over phone calls. "Sovereign AI has to run inside the systems governments and enterprises already depend on, and at the scale at which those systems operate," said Pratyush Kumar, Co-Founder, Sarvam. Also read: Sarvam appoints Thinking Machines Lab founding member Devendra Singh Chaplot as advisor "IBM's Sovereign Core gives governments an AI-ready technology foundation they control. Our stack puts models, voice, and language technologies on top of it, so a citizen can access a benefit or resolve a grievance in their own language, on a phone call," Kumar added. Earlier this month, HCLTech partnered with Sarvam and the government of Odisha to set-up its first AI data centre in the state with an investment of Rs 14,257 crore. In June, HCLTech announced its investment plans of $150 million as the lead strategic investor in Sarvam's latest Series B funding round of $234 million.

IBM and Sarvam Partner to Advance Sovereign AI for Government and Regulated Enterprises in India

This initiative aims to accelerate the adoption of trusted, governed, and sovereign AI capabilities across industry and public sector ecosystems through innovation pilots, solution accelerators, technical advisory, and knowledge-sharing initiatives. It brings together IBM Sovereign Core, IBM's AI-ready sovereign-by-design software that enables full control over data, operations and governance, with Sarvam's Sovereign AI stack, which includes reasoning models and India-first language and voice AI trained from scratch in India. The combined offering is purpose-built for the public sector and regulated enterprises aligned with the country's regulatory, security, and operational requirements. Together, IBM and Sarvam will power use cases like citizen services, grievance redressal, document processing, and administrative workflows on full stack sovereign AI. This ensures accelerated delivery of secure, multilingual, and voice-enabled Government-to-citizen services at scale. The IBM GovTech AI Innovation Center in Lucknow will serve as a joint incubation and demonstration hub, where government departments, public sector organisations, enterprises and industry stakeholders can work through the technical, operational, and governance requirements of moving AI from pilots into production and explore practical applications of sovereign AI.

IBM and Sarvam Collaborate to Advance Full Stack Sovereignty for AI Sovereignty for Government and Regulated Enterprises Across India

IBM and Sarvam, India's full-stack sovereign AI company, today announced a collaboration to advance the development and adoption of sovereign AI technologies in India. Through the collaboration, IBM and Sarvam will work together to demonstrate and pilot technologies and solutions targeting industry use cases relevant for central and state governments, public sector organisations, and regulated enterprises across India. This initiative aims to accelerate the adoption of trusted, governed, and sovereign AI capabilities across industry and public sector ecosystems through innovation pilots, solution accelerators, technical advisory, and knowledge-sharing initiatives. It brings together IBM Sovereign Core, IBM's AI-ready sovereign-by-design software that enables full control over data, operations and governance, with Sarvam's Sovereign AI stack, which includes reasoning models and India-first language and voice AI trained from scratch in India. The combined offering is purpose-built for the public sector and regulated enterprises aligned with the country's regulatory, security, and operational requirements. Together, IBM and Sarvam will power use cases like citizen services, grievance redressal, document processing, and administrative workflows on full stack sovereign AI. This ensures accelerated delivery of secure, multilingual, and voice-enabled Government-to-citizen services at scale. The IBM GovTech AI Innovation Center in Lucknow will serve as a joint incubation and demonstration hub, where government departments, public sector organisations, enterprises and industry stakeholders can work through the technical, operational, and governance requirements of moving AI from pilots into production and explore practical applications of sovereign AI. Sriram Raghavan, General Manager, IBM Software, India and Software Innovation Lab said, "Sovereign AI is not simply about where AI runs. It is about giving organizations control over how AI is governed, deployed, and operated. IBM Sovereign Core provides an open, enterprise-grade platform and middleware foundation designed to help governments and regulated enterprises scale AI within environments they trust while addressing governance, security, and compliance requirements. By combining these capabilities with Sarvam's India-first AI technologies, we aim to help organizations operationalize sovereign AI and accelerate the journey from experimentation to production-scale outcomes." "Sovereign AI has to run inside the systems governments and enterprises already depend on, and at the scale at which those systems operate," said Pratyush Kumar, Co-Founder of Sarvam. "IBM's Sovereign Core gives governments an AI-ready technology foundation they control. Our stack puts models, voice, and language technologies on top of it, so a citizen can access a benefit or resolve a grievance in their own language, on a phone call."