Semiconductor startups in India are garnering unprecedented investment, fueled by support from the Government of India.

India’s semiconductor design sector is experiencing significant expansion, fueled by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology’s (MeitY) Design Linked Incentive (DLI) Scheme and the Chips to Startup (C2S) Programme. Netrasemi, a company backed by the initiative, obtained Rs. 107 crore (US$ 12.38 million) in Venture Capital (VC) investment for creating chips for smart vision, CCTV cameras, and Internet of Things (IoT) uses. Union Minister for Electronics and Information Technology, Mr. Ashwini Vaishnaw, praised the advancement, indicating that India’s design skills, supported by the India Semiconductor Mission, are fostering innovation-driven growth. Following the initiation of the DLI Scheme in 2022, the government has pledged Rs. 234 crore (US$ 27.08 million) allocated for 22 chip design initiatives, with an overall project expenditure of Rs. 690 crore (US$ 79.86 million). These startups have together secured funding exceeding Rs. ₹3,800 crores (US$ 43.98 million) from venture capital investors. Significant investments encompass Mindgrove Technologies, which secured Rs. 85 crore (US$ 9.83 million) for the design of CCTV chips, and Fermionic Design, which secured Rs. 50 crore (US$ 5.79 million) for chips used in satellite communication. Over 72 firms have received access to sophisticated software tools for chip design, with five startups currently developing and testing their chip designs alongside international manufacturers.