Single Capital Pool: Why Anthropic and India's Sarvam AI Share the Same Investors
At first glance, what could connect the American giant Anthropic, creator of the Claude model, and the Indian startup Sarvam AI, based in Bangalore? Beyond the obvious race for leadership in artificial intelligence across different continents, these two labs are united by something much more fundamental — the structure of their share capital. An analysis of Indian regulatory documents reveals deep financial parallels that go far beyond mere technological coincidences.
The key link is the venture capital fund Lightspeed Venture Partners. It led the Series E round for Anthropic worth $3.5 billion in March 2025, valuing the Claude developer at $61.5 billion. However, Lightspeed did not limit itself to betting on the American market. According to official documents, Lightspeed, through its subsidiaries, acquired stakes in the capital, preferred shares, and convertible bonds of Axonwise Private Limited — the legal entity that operates Sarvam AI.
This Indian startup, founded in 2023 by renowned engineers Vivek Raghavan and Pratyush Kumar, recently raised $234 million in funding at a total market valuation of $1.5 billion. Thus, the same major player is simultaneously developing both an American lab and its strong Indian competitor.
Global Strategy: General Catalyst and Khosla Ventures
The pattern is not limited to Lightspeed. The fund General Catalyst entered the Indian market in 2024 through a major acquisition of Venture Highway, which specialized in early-stage support for promising startups in India. Venture Highway Fund III holds Series A convertible bonds of Sarvam. At the same time, General Catalyst also invests in Anthropic and the French startup Mistral AI, being present in three key AI labs simultaneously.
Another striking example is Khosla Ventures. This fund, known as the first venture investor in OpenAI, owns shares and Series A preferred shares of Sarvam. That is, the same institutional money is distributed among direct competitors in the global market.
The presence of common investors, of course, does not make the companies partners. However, this situation clearly demonstrates how focused and consolidated AI funding has become. The same players decide which labs develop from San Francisco to Bangalore.
Cryptalist Analytics: This cross-investment structure is not just a diversification game. It is a strategic move that allows venture capital giants to control several potential "unicorns" at once, hedging risks and gaining access to unique developments in different markets. For the industry, this means that competition in AI is increasingly turning into a competition of portfolios of large funds, rather than individual startups.