Semiconductor startups in India are attracting record investment, driven by the Government of India’s support

India’s semiconductor design ecosystem is witnessing strong growth, driven by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology’s (MeitY) Design Linked Incentive (DLI) Scheme and the Chips to Startup (C2S) Programme. Netrasemi, a startup supported under the scheme, secured Rs. 107 crore (US$ 12.38 million) in Venture Capital (VC) funding for developing chips for smart vision, CCTV cameras, and Internet of Things (IoT) applications. Union Minister for Electronics and Information Technology, Mr. Ashwini Vaishnaw, welcomed the development, stating that India’s design capabilities, backed by the India Semiconductor Mission, are paving the way for innovation-led growth.

Since the launch of the DLI Scheme in 2022, the government has committed Rs. 234 crore (US$ 27.08 million) in support for 22 chip design projects, with a total project cost of Rs. 690 crore (US$ 79.86 million). These startups have collectively raised over Rs. 380 crore (US$ 43.98 million) from VC investors. Notable investments include Mindgrove Technologies, which raised Rs. 85 crore (US$ 9.83 million) for CCTV chip design, and Fermionic Design, which raised Rs. 50 crore (US$ 5.79 million) for satellite communication chips. More than 72 companies have been granted access to advanced software tools for chip designing, with five startups already building and testing their chip designs in collaboration with global manufacturers.

Disclaimer: This information has been collected through secondary research and IBEF is not responsible for any errors in the same.