HCL Technologies shares gained more than 2% after the company announced a strategic investment of ₹1,427.25 crore in Sarvam AI, securing a 10.46% equity stake in the Bengaluru-based artificial intelligence startup. The investment forms part of Sarvam AI’s Series B funding round, which has raised $234 million in its first close and values the company at approximately $1.5 billion.

According to Nomura, the transaction represents a significant strategic move for HCL Tech as it seeks to expand its artificial intelligence capabilities. The brokerage maintained its Buy rating on the stock with a target price of ₹1,600, highlighting the potential for collaboration between HCL Tech’s global enterprise network and Sarvam AI’s foundation model research and multilingual AI expertise.

Nomura noted that the partnership could enable HCL Tech to develop industry-specific AI models and solutions for enterprise and government clients across global markets. The investment is also expected to strengthen the company’s capabilities in multilingual AI applications, sovereign AI infrastructure, and next-generation AI platforms.

HCL Tech is participating as the lead strategic investor in Sarvam AI’s funding round. The company stated that the collaboration aims to build secure, scalable, and responsible AI solutions while supporting the development of India’s AI ecosystem. The transaction is expected to be completed within weeks and will be funded entirely through cash consideration.

The investment marks one of the largest strategic bets by an Indian IT services company on a domestic AI startup and underscores the growing importance of artificial intelligence as a future growth driver for the technology services sector.