How to Use Sarvam AI in 2026: Complete Guide to India's Sovereign AI Platform for 22 Indian Languages
Sarvam AI is India's first sovereign AI platform, purpose-built for 22+ Indian languages with speech-to-text, text-to-speech, translation, and conversational AI agents. Backed by $53.8M in funding from Lightspeed, Peak XV Partners, and Khosla Ventures, and selected under the IndiaAI Mission to build India's first indigenous foundational model, Sarvam AI is the go-to platform for businesses and developers building multilingual AI applications for the Indian market in 2026.
Whether you're building a Hindi voice assistant, a multilingual customer support bot, or need to transcribe meetings in Tamil, Telugu, or Bengali, this guide covers everything you need to know about leveraging Sarvam AI's platform, APIs, and products.
What Is Sarvam AI 2026?
Sarvam AI is a Bengaluru-based AI company founded in 2023 by Vivek Raghavan and Pratyush Kumar. The company's mission is to create a sovereign AI ecosystem for India that empowers governments, enterprises, and developers to use GenAI solutions in Indian languages.
Sarvam AI at a Glance 2026
| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2023, Bengaluru, India |
| Founders | Vivek Raghavan, Pratyush Kumar |
| Total Funding | $53.8M across 3 rounds |
| Key Investors | Lightspeed, Peak XV Partners, Khosla Ventures |
| Languages | 22+ Indian languages + English |
| Government Recognition | IndiaAI Mission sovereign LLM partner |
| Free Credits | ₹1,000 for new users |
India's Sovereign AI Mission 2026
In 2025, India's IT Ministry selected Sarvam AI as the first startup (out of 67 companies shortlisted) to develop India's first indigenous foundational AI model under the IndiaAI Mission. This means Sarvam receives government-backed compute resources and support to build AI models that keep Indian data sovereign within India's borders.
Why Sarvam AI for India 2026
The Indian Language AI Gap 2026
India has 1.4 billion people speaking 22 scheduled languages and hundreds of dialects. Global AI models like GPT-4, Gemini, and Claude are primarily trained on English data. This creates a massive gap:
- Poor accuracy: Global models struggle with Indian accents, dialects, and code-mixed speech
- Limited support: Many Indian languages have minimal representation in training data
- No code-mixing: Indians naturally mix Hindi-English (Hinglish), Tamil-English (Tanglish), etc.
- Data sovereignty: Indian enterprise data processed by foreign AI raises compliance concerns
- High latency: Global APIs route through international servers, adding latency for Indian users
How Sarvam Solves This 2026
- India-first training data: Models trained on massive Indian language datasets
- Code-mixed support: Natively handles Hinglish, Tanglish, and other mixed-language inputs
- Indian accent optimization: Speech models tuned for Indian English and regional accents
- Data sovereignty: All processing within Indian infrastructure
- Low latency: India-based servers for real-time applications
- Affordable pricing: INR-based pricing designed for the Indian market
Sarvam AI Products 2026
Sarvam Samvaad 2026
Samvaad is Sarvam's conversational AI platform for building multilingual voice and chat agents. It enables businesses to deploy AI assistants that understand and respond in Indian languages naturally.
- Voice agents: Build voice-first AI assistants for phone and web
- Chat agents: Deploy multilingual chatbots across channels
- Custom personas: Configure agent personality, language preferences, and domain knowledge
- Integration: Connect with existing CRM, helpdesk, and telephony systems
Sarvam Text 2026
Text processing capabilities for Indian languages:
- Translation: High-accuracy translation between Indian languages and English
- Transliteration: Convert text between scripts (Devanagari to Latin, etc.)
- Chat completion: Multilingual LLM for conversational AI (free tier available)
- Sarvam Parse: Extract structured information from documents in XML format
Sarvam Speech 2026
Speech processing optimized for Indian voices:
- Speech-to-Text (STT): Transcribe audio in 22+ Indian languages
- Speech-to-Text Translate: Transcribe and translate simultaneously to English
- Text-to-Speech (TTS) - Bulbul: Natural-sounding voices in 10+ Indic languages
- Speaker identification: Detect and separate multiple speakers
Sarvam Dub 2026
AI-powered dubbing and voice-over service for translating video and audio content across Indian languages while maintaining natural voice quality and lip-sync.
Sarvam Vision 2026
Document understanding and visual AI for processing Indian-language documents, forms, and images with text extraction capabilities.
Supported Languages 2026
All 22 Scheduled Languages + English 2026
| Language | Script | STT | TTS | Translation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hindi | Devanagari | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Bengali | Bengali | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Tamil | Tamil | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Telugu | Telugu | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Marathi | Devanagari | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Gujarati | Gujarati | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Kannada | Kannada | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Malayalam | Malayalam | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Odia | Odia | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Punjabi | Gurmukhi | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| English | Latin | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Additional languages supported include Assamese, Maithili, Sanskrit, Urdu, Konkani, Manipuri, Bodo, Dogri, Kashmiri, Santali, Sindhi, and Nepali with varying levels of API support across STT, TTS, and translation services.
Getting Started with Sarvam AI 2026
Step 1: Create Account 2026
- Visit sarvam.ai and click "Get Started"
- Sign up with email or Google account
- Verify your account
- Receive ₹1,000 free API credits automatically
Step 2: Get API Key 2026
- Navigate to the API dashboard
- Generate your API key
- Store the key securely (it won't be shown again)
- Set the key in your environment:
SARVAM_API_KEY=your_key_here
Step 3: Make Your First API Call 2026
Quick test with the Translation API:
curl -X POST https://api.sarvam.ai/translate \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-H "API-Subscription-Key: YOUR_API_KEY" \
-d '{
"input": "How are you doing today?",
"source_language_code": "en-IN",
"target_language_code": "hi-IN",
"model": "mayura:v1"
}'Step 4: Explore the Dashboard 2026
- API playground: Test APIs directly in the browser
- Usage monitoring: Track credit consumption
- Documentation: Access guides, tutorials, and cookbooks
- Starter notebooks: Jupyter notebooks for hands-on learning
Sarvam AI APIs 2026
Speech-to-Text API (Saarika) 2026
Saarika is Sarvam's ASR model that transcribes audio in Indian languages with high accuracy.
- REST API: For quick transcription under 30 seconds, instant results
- Batch API: For longer audio files, asynchronous processing
- Supported formats: WAV, MP3, AAC, AIFF, OGG, OPUS, FLAC, MP4/M4A, AMR, WMA, WebM, PCM
- Auto language detection: Automatically identifies the spoken language
- Speaker diarization: Separate and identify multiple speakers
Speech-to-Text Translate API 2026
Combines transcription and translation in one API call. Automatically detects the input language, transcribes the speech, and translates to English.
Text-to-Speech API (Bulbul) 2026
Bulbul generates natural-sounding speech in 10+ Indian languages with multiple voice options.
- Multiple voices: Male and female voice options per language
- Natural prosody: Realistic intonation and rhythm
- Speed control: Adjustable speech rate
- SSML support: Fine-grained control over pronunciation
Translation API (Mayura) 2026
High-accuracy translation between Indian languages and English, optimized for Indian context and terminology.
Transliteration API 2026
Convert text between scripts while maintaining pronunciation. Useful for converting Hindi in Latin script (romanized) to Devanagari and vice versa.
Chat Completion API (Sarvam-M) 2026
Multilingual conversational AI model for building chatbots and assistants. Currently offered free of charge for basic usage.
Sarvam AI Pricing 2026
API Pricing Table 2026
| Service | Pricing (INR) | Unit |
|---|---|---|
| Free Credits | ₹1,000 | New user signup |
| Speech-to-Text | ₹30 | Per hour |
| STT + Translation | ₹45 | Per hour |
| Text-to-Speech (Bulbul) | ₹15 | Per 10,000 characters |
| Translation | ₹20 | Per 10,000 characters |
| Transliteration | ₹3.50 | Per 10,000 characters |
| Chat Completion | Free | Basic usage |
| Enterprise | Custom | Contact sales |
Cost Comparison 2026
Sarvam AI's pricing is significantly more affordable than global alternatives for Indian language processing:
- Google Cloud STT: ~₹96/hour vs Sarvam's ₹30/hour (3x cheaper)
- AWS Transcribe: ~₹100/hour vs Sarvam's ₹30/hour (3.3x cheaper)
- Azure Speech: ~₹84/hour vs Sarvam's ₹30/hour (2.8x cheaper)
And Sarvam delivers better accuracy for Indian languages since models are specifically trained on Indian data.
Sarvam AI Models 2026
Foundation Models 2026
| Model | Type | Best For |
|---|---|---|
| Sarvam-1 | Base LLM | Foundation model for Indian languages |
| Sarvam-M | Multilingual LLM | Chat completion, conversational AI |
| Saarika | ASR Model | Speech-to-text transcription |
| Bulbul | TTS Model | Text-to-speech synthesis |
| Mayura | Translation Model | Language-to-language translation |
| Shuka | Multimodal Model | Vision + language understanding |
What Makes These Models Special 2026
- Indian-first training: Trained on curated Indian language datasets, not just translated English
- Code-mixed handling: Natively understands Hindi-English, Tamil-English, etc.
- Dialect awareness: Understands regional variations within languages
- Compute-efficient: Optimized to run on smaller hardware for cost efficiency
- Available on Azure: Sarvam models are available on Microsoft Azure Marketplace
Sarvam AI Use Cases 2026
Customer Support Automation 2026
Build voice and chat bots that handle customer queries in any Indian language:
- IVR replacement with AI voice agents
- WhatsApp chatbot in Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, etc.
- Email auto-response with translation
- Real-time agent assist with live translation
Government and Public Services 2026
- Citizen helplines in all 22 scheduled languages
- Document processing for government forms
- Voice-based information access for low-literacy populations
- Multilingual public announcement systems
Healthcare 2026
- Doctor-patient communication in regional languages
- Medical report translation
- Voice-based symptom checking in rural areas
- Health awareness content in local languages
Education 2026
- Multilingual educational content delivery
- Voice-based learning for regional language students
- Automatic lecture transcription and translation
- Exam preparation bots in Indian languages
E-Commerce and Retail 2026
- Voice commerce in Indian languages
- Product descriptions in multiple languages
- Customer review translation
- Voice search for regional shoppers
Media and Entertainment 2026
- Video dubbing with Sarvam Dub
- Subtitle generation in Indian languages
- Podcast transcription
- News article translation for multilingual publications
Sarvam AI vs Competitors 2026
Indian AI Platform Comparison 2026
| Feature | Sarvam AI | Krutrim (Ola) | BharatGPT (CoRover) | AI4Bharat |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Languages | 22+ Indian | 20+ Indian | 12+ Indian | 22 Indian |
| Focus | Full-stack AI | Consumer AI | Conversational AI | Research/Open-source |
| APIs Available | Yes, comprehensive | Limited | Yes | Open-source models |
| Speech APIs | STT + TTS + Translate | Limited | Yes | Research models |
| Govt. Backing | IndiaAI Mission | No | Partial | Yes (IIT Madras) |
| Enterprise Ready | Yes | Building | Yes | Community |
| Funding | $53.8M | Part of Ola | $4M+ | Research grants |
| Best For | Enterprise + Dev APIs | Consumer apps | Chatbots | Research + OSS |
Sarvam vs Global AI 2026
| Aspect | Sarvam AI | OpenAI/Google/AWS |
|---|---|---|
| Indian Language Accuracy | Superior (India-trained) | Good but generic |
| Code-Mixed Speech | Native support | Limited/Poor |
| Data Sovereignty | India-based | International servers |
| Pricing | INR, affordable | USD, 2-3x more expensive |
| Latency (India) | Low (local servers) | Higher (international routing) |
| General AI Capabilities | India-focused | Broader global coverage |
Best Practices for Using Sarvam AI 2026
For Developers 2026
- Start with free credits: Use the ₹1,000 free credits to test all APIs before committing
- Use REST for short audio: REST API for audio under 30 seconds, Batch API for longer files
- Specify language codes: While auto-detection works, specifying the source language improves accuracy
- Handle code-mixed input: Sarvam handles Hinglish natively, no special preprocessing needed
- Cache translations: For repeated content, cache translation results to save credits
For Businesses 2026
- Start with one language: Pilot with your highest-traffic Indian language first
- Use Samvaad for agents: Instead of building from scratch, use Samvaad for conversational AI
- Monitor quality: Review transcriptions and translations regularly for domain-specific accuracy
- Combine APIs: Chain STT → Translation → TTS for end-to-end multilingual voice pipelines
- Contact enterprise sales: For high volumes, enterprise plans offer better rates and SLAs
For Marketing Teams 2026
- Localize content: Use Translation API to create content in regional languages at scale
- Voice-first campaigns: Build voice-based marketing for India's next billion users
- Multilingual ads: Create ad copy in multiple Indian languages using Sarvam
- Transcribe customer calls: Analyze customer conversations across languages for insights
FAQs: Sarvam AI 2026
What is Sarvam AI and what does it do in 2026?
Sarvam AI is India's sovereign AI platform built for 22+ Indian languages. In 2026, it offers speech-to-text, text-to-speech, translation, transliteration, and conversational AI agents. Backed by $53.8M in funding and selected under India's IndiaAI Mission, Sarvam provides APIs and enterprise solutions for businesses, governments, and developers building multilingual AI applications for the Indian market.
How much does Sarvam AI cost in 2026?
Sarvam AI offers free credits worth ₹1,000 for new users. Paid pricing includes: Speech-to-Text at ₹30/hour, Speech-to-Text with Translation at ₹45/hour, Text-to-Speech at ₹15 per 10,000 characters, Translation at ₹20 per 10,000 characters, and free chat completion. Enterprise plans are available with custom pricing for high-volume usage.
Which Indian languages does Sarvam AI support in 2026?
Sarvam AI supports 22+ Indian languages including Hindi, Bengali, Tamil, Telugu, Marathi, Gujarati, Kannada, Malayalam, Odia, Punjabi, Assamese, Maithili, Sanskrit, Urdu, Konkani, Manipuri, Bodo, Dogri, Kashmiri, Santali, Sindhi, and Nepali. It also supports English and code-mixed conversations common in Indian contexts.
How does Sarvam AI compare to Google Translate or ChatGPT for Indian languages?
Sarvam AI is specifically trained on Indian language data, giving it superior accuracy for Indian languages compared to global models. Unlike Google Translate, Sarvam handles code-mixed speech (Hinglish, Tanglish) natively. Unlike ChatGPT, Sarvam offers dedicated speech-to-text and text-to-speech APIs optimized for Indian accents and dialects, with data sovereignty keeping all processing within India.
Key Takeaways: Sarvam AI 2026
- India's Sovereign AI 2026: Sarvam AI is India's first sovereign AI platform, backed by the IndiaAI Mission and $53.8M in funding, purpose-built for 22+ Indian languages.
- Affordable Indian Language AI 2026: At ₹30/hour for STT and ₹15/10K chars for TTS, Sarvam is 2-3x cheaper than global alternatives with better Indian language accuracy.
- Full-Stack Platform 2026: From speech-to-text (Saarika) to TTS (Bulbul) to translation (Mayura) to conversational AI (Samvaad), Sarvam covers the complete multilingual AI stack.
- Enterprise + Developer Ready 2026: With comprehensive APIs, free ₹1,000 credits, Azure Marketplace availability, and enterprise plans, Sarvam serves both startups and large organizations.
- Code-Mixed Native 2026: Unlike global models, Sarvam natively handles Hinglish, Tanglish, and other code-mixed conversations that are natural to Indian users.
Need Help Building Multilingual AI for India?
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