Bengaluru: Sarvam AI, the Bengaluru-based artificial intelligence company, on Wednesday announced that it has executed the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Headquarters Integrated Defence Staff (HQ IDS) to set up an umbrella framework for AI projects across the Army, Navy and Air Force.
The framework also covers the joint, tri-service and integrated organizations that function under HQ IDS.
Scope of the agreement
Under the MoU, Sarvam will design, develop and deploy AI applications for the operational, training and decision-support needs of the three Services. It will also provide follow-on technical support.
The company said the work spans several projects across all three Services, with HQ IDS facilitating the engagement.
It also added that the Services and joint organizations will get access to the same foundation models, agentic infrastructure, and geospatial and perception systems. Doctrine and lessons learned from one Service’s projects can then inform the next, it added.
Clarification on the signatory
In a clarification issued on October 28, Sarvam said some news articles had wrongly suggested the MoU was signed with the Ministry of Defence. It said the agreement was executed with HQ IDS, an organization under the ministry.
Focus areas
Sarvam said the MoU advances the defence ministry’s direction on military AI, under which the armed forces are building their own AI layer across the Services with Indian partners.
The focus areas are decision support, and target acquisition and data fusion across the sensor-to-shooter loop.
Human oversight will be retained on operational decisions, the company said. The AI layer will be built in India and deployed on sovereign infrastructure.
The work will be carried out by Chanakya, Sarvam’s firewalled division for national security and defence. It will use the company’s AI stack, including foundation models such as Sarvam 105B.
Sarvam said it will work with HQ IDS on projects of critical importance to the country, including an AI fabric connecting the elements of India's defence capabilities.
Background
Sarvam announced Chanakya in March this year as a vertical for government, defence and other high-security users.
According to media reports at the time, it is designed for on-premise and air-gapped deployments, and can process text, images and other data while running AI workflows autonomously.
