India's Sarvam, Nepal's AIAI sign strategic partnership to advance AI in Nepal

KATHMANDU: India’s artificial intelligence unicorn Sarvam and the Asian Institute of Artificial Intelligence (AIAI), a Nepal-based institution, have signed a strategic partnership to advance artificial intelligence education, talent development, applied innovation and responsible adoption across Nepal.

The AIAI, a subsidiary of the Asian Institute of Diplomacy and International Affairs (AIDIA), has been appointed Sarvam’s Country Partner for Nepal.

The agreement was signed on July 10, 2026, by Dr Vivek Raghavan, co-founder and director of Sarvam, and Sunil KC, founding director of the AIAI. Under the memorandum of understanding (MoU), the Nepali institution will lead the local delivery of Sarvam Forward Nepal, the flagship implementation programme under the broader Sarvam for Nepal initiative. The programme will officially launch in Kathmandu on August 15, 2026 and will form part of a wider effort to help Nepal build the ability to understand, develop, govern and deploy artificial intelligence responsibly.

Sarvam was previously selected by the Government of India under the IndiaAI Mission to build India’s sovereign large language model. In June 2026, the company announced the first close of a $300 million Series B round, raising $234 million at a post-money valuation of $1.5 billion. The partnership, combining Sarvam’s full-stack AI platform with the institutional network in Nepal, intends to explore programmes in literacy, student and faculty development, campus systems, public-service applications and local-language research.

The initiative includes a public-good component to expand access to education and responsible-use awareness among public universities, community campuses, public schools, women and rural communities. This will include free or subsidised literacy courses, faculty orientation and provincial capability programmes. Both organisations will also explore research and applications in Nepali and other languages spoken across Nepal, including Maithili, Bhojpuri, Tharu, Nepal Bhasa, Tamang and Magar, covering areas such as speech technology, document digitisation and multilingual public-information tools.

“AI becomes truly meaningful when people can use it in their own languages and when it strengthens the institutions they rely on every day,” said Dr Vivek Raghavan. “Nepal has the talent, diversity and institutional ambition to build meaningful AI capability. Through this partnership with AIAI, we look forward to supporting students, educators, developers, public institutions and enterprises as they move from experimentation to responsible, real-world deployment. We also see this as an important model for regional cooperation through technology.”

AIAI Founding Director KC said, “AI will not transform Nepal simply because new tools become available. It will transform Nepal when our universities, educators, young people, public institutions and businesses develop the capability to build with those tools. This partnership is about creating that capability practically, responsibly and at institutional scale. Our ambition is to ensure that Nepal participates in the AI era not only as a consumer, but also as a builder, innovator and contributor.”