Union Minister Vaishnaw hails India's chip design ecosystem as startups attract major VC funding

New Delhi, July 24 India’s semiconductor design ecosystem is witnessing accelerated growth, with startups supported under the Ministry of Electronics and IT’s (MeitY) Design Linked Incentive (DLI) Scheme and the Chips to Startup (C2S) Programme gaining significant traction and attracting private investments, an official statement said on Thursday.

Bengaluru-based startup Netrasemi has raised Rs 107 crore in venture capital funding, which is a significant boost to the industry.

Union Minister for Electronics and IT, Ashwini Vaishnaw, said that India’s strong design capabilities are getting a platform through the India Semiconductor Mission, and Netrasemi’s success will inspire more Indian startups to venture into chip design.

Netrasemi develops semiconductors for Internet of Things (IoT) applications, CCTV cameras, and smart vision with support from the government's chip design scheme.

With a total project cost of Rs 690 crore, the government has committed Rs 234 crore to support 22 chip design startups since the DLI Scheme's inception in 2022, the ministry said in the statement.

These startups are developing chips for a variety of industries, such as satellites, smart devices, mobile networks, cars, and CCTV cameras.

Together, these startups have raised more than Rs 380 crore from private investors in addition to government assistance.

Fermionic Design, which creates chips for satellite communications, raised Rs 50 crore, while Mindgrove Technologies, which specialises in CCTV chip design, raised Rs 85 crore.

Other startups in the sector are also making rapid production progress.

Five startups have so far developed and tested their chip designs with manufacturers around the world. In addition, more than 72 businesses now have access to cutting-edge Electronic Design Automation (EDA) tools to aid in the development of chips, the ministry stated.

The semiconductor design ecosystem is being fostered not only with public funding but also with growing confidence from private investors, in keeping with the government's goal of making India a "product nation".

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