India is experiencing a significant transformation in its technology landscape, propelled by an increasing emphasis on technological advancement and self-reliance. Over the past decade, there has been a remarkable surge in emerging technology startups, notably in sectors like electric vehicles, drone technology, private space exploration, and a surge in private funding for technology initiatives. These developments highlight the dynamic nature of India's tech sector.
The semiconductor ecosystem in India, in particular, has seen substantial growth, supported by government initiatives aimed at boosting fabless chip manufacturing, semiconductor design, and packaging companies. The launch of the Semicon India program in 2021, with a substantial allocation of INR 76,000 Crores from the government, aims to support companies involved in silicon semiconductor fabs, display fabs, compound semiconductors/sensors fabs, and semiconductor packaging and design.
The following year, the India Semiconductor Mission (ISM) was initiated to foster a robust semiconductor and display ecosystem, positioning India as a global hub for electronics manufacturing and design. This mission includes the ‘Semicon India Future Design: Design Linked Incentive (DLI) Scheme’, offering financial incentives and design infrastructure support for the development and deployment of various semiconductor technologies including Integrated Circuits (ICs), chipsets, System on Chips (SoCs), Systems and IP cores, and semiconductor-linked design.
Contributing to these efforts is the 'Make in India' initiative, which focuses on reducing reliance on imported components and strengthening the domestic tech ecosystem. This initiative has facilitated partnerships with global semiconductor manufacturing giants like Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), Micron, and Qualcomm, which have made significant investments in India.
Notably, on February 29, the Union Cabinet approved the establishment of the country’s first semiconductor fabrication facility by the Tata Group in collaboration with Taiwan’s Powerchip Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp (PSMC). This venture is part of a historical progression dating back to 1976 when Prime Minister Indira Gandhi approved the formation of the Semi-Conductor Laboratory in Mohali, Punjab.
Among the companies leading the charge in India’s burgeoning semiconductor industry are:
AGNIT Semiconductors: Founded in 2019 in Bengaluru, this company specializes in Gallium Nitride (GaN) semiconductor technology, focusing on radio-frequency applications primarily for the defense and telecommunication sectors. In 2023, AGNIT was contracted by the Ministry of Defence for the design and development of advanced GaN semiconductors for next-generation wireless transmitters used in defense applications such as radars and electronic warfare jammers. The founders include Digbijoy Neelim Nath, Hareesh Chandrasekar, Madhusudan Atre, Mayank Shrivastava, Muralidharan Rangarajan, Shankar Kumar Selvaraja, and Srinivasan Raghavan.
Aura Semiconductor (Aurasemi): Established in 2011 by Srinath Sridharan, Aura Semiconductor designs mixed-signal IC solutions for various applications, including IoT radios, enterprise timing, and portable audio. The company, which has offices in Bengaluru, China, the UK, and the US, was recently acquired by SiTime Corporation.
Cientra: Founded in 2015 by Uday Joshi and Sandip Kadtane, Cientra specializes in VLSI, ASIC, FPGA, and SoCs, serving sectors such as telecom, automotive, and embedded software. The company, with offices in India, the USA, and Germany, launched a vendor-agnostic 5G IoT aggregator solution in partnership with Amantya Technologies, claimed to be the ‘world’s first’.
FermionIC Design: This fabless semiconductor startup, founded in 2020 in Bengaluru by Gautam Kumar Singh, Prasun Bhattacharyya, Abhra Bagchi, and Shabaaz Syed, develops ICs for high-speed wireline and RF communication. Its product portfolio includes a beamformer core chip in silicon-germanium (SiGe) process and mixed signal products like ultra-low-noise low dropout (LDO)-ICs and low-phase noise crystal oscillators.
InCore Semiconductors: Founded in 2018 at the IIT Madras Research Park by Arjun Menon, Gautam Doshi, GS Madhusudan, and Neel Gala, InCore is building 5th generation RISC/RISC-V processor cores in India.
Mindgrove Technologies: Founded in 2021 by Shashwath T R and Sharan Srinivas J, this Chennai-based semiconductor startup focuses on SoCs and is incubated at IIT Madras.
Morphing Machines: Established in 2005 at the Indian Institute of Science in Bengaluru by Dr. S.K. Nandy, Dr. Ranjani Narayan, and Deepak Shapeti, Morphing Machines develops domain-specific architectures (DSAs) for mixed critical application tasks.
Oakter: This Noida-based Original Device Manufacturer (ODM), founded in 2015 by IIT Delhi alumni, designs and manufactures smart electronic devices and has been a key player in contract manufacturing for major brands.
Saankhya Labs, Signoff Semiconductors, Silizium Circuits, Terminus Circuits, and Vervesemi are additional key contributors to India’s semiconductor industry, each playing a pivotal role in the development of integrated circuits and semiconductor solutions for a variety of applications.
These companies are at the forefront of India’s efforts to become a semiconductor powerhouse, laying a strong foundation for the country’s anticipated semiconductor boom.
Source: "Meet The 13 Semiconductor Startups Powering India’s Technological Prowess" by Inc42. Read here