Global investors are uniting Anthropic and Sarvam AI: what lies behind the parallels in funding
At first glance, Anthropic and the Indian startup Sarvam AI are competitors operating on different continents. However, they are connected not only by their ambitions in the field of artificial intelligence but also by strikingly similar financial strategies. An analysis of the shareholder structure shows that the same global funds are actively investing in both labs, creating a unique network of interconnections.
The key link is Lightspeed Venture Partners. This fund led the Series E round for Anthropic worth $3.5 billion in March 2025, after which the valuation of Claude's developer reached $61.5 billion. Simultaneously, Lightspeed, through its subsidiaries, acquired stakes in Sarvam AI's capital, including preferred shares and convertible bonds. This refers to the legal entity Axonwise Private Limited, which supports the operations of the Indian startup.
Sarvam AI, founded by renowned engineers Vivek Raghavan and Pratyush Kumar in 2023, recently raised $234 million with a total market valuation of $1.5 billion. Thus, the same major investor is simultaneously developing an American lab and its strong Indian competitor.
Strategy of General Catalyst and Khosla Ventures
Another example is the fund General Catalyst. Its entry into the Indian market resulted from the acquisition of Venture Highway in 2024. Venture Highway Fund III holds Sarvam's Series A convertible bonds. Meanwhile, General Catalyst itself invests in both Anthropic and the French startup Mistral AI, being present in three key AI labs at once.
Equally telling is the situation with Khosla Ventures. This fund owns shares and Series A preferred shares of Sarvam, and it was also the first venture investor in OpenAI. OpenAI itself appears among Sarvam's shareholders, creating an additional layer of competition.
My analysis shows: this is not a coincidence but a systemic strategy. Global investors do not make AI companies partners, but they ensure control over the development of technology worldwide—from San Francisco to Bangalore. This financing model turns competition into a managed process, where the same players decide which labs receive resources for growth.