India Tech Report

Tag: technology

  • How India’s chip startups are evolving: 5 takeaways from a conversation with Sunil Cavale and Vishal Katariya

    How India’s chip startups are evolving: 5 takeaways from a conversation with Sunil Cavale and Vishal Katariya

    Vishal Katariya (L) at Ankur Capital and Sunil Cavale at Speciale Invest have recently released their semiconductor startup landscape in India report.
    Vishal Katariya (L) at Ankur Capital and Sunil Cavale at Speciale Invest have recently released their semiconductor startup landscape in India report.

    In a recent episode of Conversations at India Tech Report, Sunil Cavale at Speciale Invest and Vishal Katariya from Ankur Capital discussed their report on the Semiconductor Startup Landscape in India, which was released last month. The two deep-tech VC investors outlined some of the top trends they see developing “on the ground”.

    They also spoke about what gave them a sense of optimism about this sector’s growth in India, including the personas of the founders of emerging startups, the deal flows and origination of capital and developments such as entrepreneurs seeking to go beyond fabless chip design into manufacturing in India for India and from India for the world. Here are my top five takeaways from the conversation.

    1. Funding maturation signals investor confidence

    India’s semiconductor startups are graduating faster through funding stages. Multiple companies — including Mindgrove, Netrasemi, and Morphing Machines — raised Series A rounds within 18 months of their seed funding. These rounds are two to three times larger than previous raises; Netrasemi’s was about 10 times bigger.

    The speed and scale reflect technical validation and market traction. Zoho, a software company, led Netrasemi’s recent round, signalling that non-traditional investors now see merit in the sector. Around $100 million has flowed to chip product startups in India over the past three years or so, mostly from domestic funds including Speciale Invest, Ankur Capital, Peak XV Partners and others.

    Growth capital remains limited compared with global standards, but the trajectory suggests that larger rounds will follow as products reach customers.

    2. India’s semicon ambitions expand beyond chip design

    Entrepreneurs are now building for the manufacturing side, not just fabless design. Startups are developing quality-inspection tools, lithography equipment, process innovations, and low-volume prototyping capabilities. This shift responds to government investment in fabrication and packaging infrastructure.

    The ecosystem is moving towards full-stack semiconductor capability — design, manufacturing, and packaging — rather than remaining concentrated in design services. Founders recognise that India’s semiconductor mission allocates substantial capital to manufacturing, creating a domestic market for ancillary technologies. This diversification reduces dependence on global supply chains and addresses geopolitical risks.

    3. Talent pool deepens with second-time founders, researchers turning entrepreneurs

    Industry experts widely believe India holds 20 per cent of global semiconductor design talent, much of it in services roles. A growing cohort has worked in multinational companies — Qualcomm, Texas Instruments, Intel — then spent years in Silicon Valley or Europe before returning to start-up semiconductor product companies in India.

    These founders bring experience beyond design: sales, business development, application engineering, and management. They understand how ecosystems function elsewhere and can build well-rounded teams. Four founder profiles dominate: academics commercialising decades of research, returnees from multinationals, second-time entrepreneurs, and recent graduates who studied abroad. Government schemes and policy support have incentivised these founders.

    4. Product diversity spans edge computing to compound semiconductors

    Startups are building chips for edge applications — IoT devices, cameras, smart meters — addressing high-volume, lower-value markets in India. Others focus on communication and radio-frequency products for 5G, 6G, radar, and defence.

    Compound semiconductor activity is emerging in gallium nitride and silicon carbide, led by teams from top institutions including IIT Bombay and IISc in Bangalore. Photonics startups are developing networking and interconnect technologies. Some companies target data-centre compute, while others integrate artificial intelligence into edge devices.

    Products vary in complexity, cost, and timescale: consumer electronics may reach market within two years, while high-performance computing or photonics chips need three to four years.

    5. Geopolitical and capital constraints remain substantial

    Taiwan dominates chip fabrication. ASML in the Netherlands controls the high-end lithography equipment. Geopolitical instability poses risks that affect all startups, not just Indian ones. Talent costs are high. Semiconductor engineers command premium salaries globally and in India.

    Startups often cannot afford top-tier multinational employees on current funding. Markets move quickly, creating product-fit risks. While acquisitions such as Kinara (bought by NXP for $300 million) demonstrate exit potential, Indian startups have not yet raised the hundreds of millions that global peers routinely secure.

  • India to modernise Semiconductor Laboratory spending Rs. 4,500 crore

    India to modernise Semiconductor Laboratory spending Rs. 4,500 crore

    India’s Electronics and IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnav recently visited SCL, and outlined a plan to modernise the chip facility.

    (00:20) India to invest Rs. 4,500 crore to modernise SCL Mohali

    India will invest Rs. 4,500 crore to modernise and expand the government-run Semiconductor Laboratory (SCL) in Mohali, targeting a 100-fold increase in wafer production while ruling out privatisation, Electronics and IT minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said during a site visit. SCL will support chip fabrication for students, startups and defence-linked agencies as part of a broader push for indigenous semiconductor capability, according to a statement from the ministry.

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    (00:55) Mixx Technologies raises $33 million series A funding

    Mixx Technologies, a US-based deep-tech startup founded by specialists from Intel and Broadcom, has raised $33 million in Series A funding led by ICM HPQC Fund alongside TDK Ventures, Systemiq Capital, and others. The capital will accelerate development of its HBxIO silicon-integrated optical engine, boost global R&D (including in India), and drive adoption of high-efficiency AI infrastructure platforms.

    (01:29) Lightspeed Photonics raises $6.5 million for optical AI chips

    Lightspeed Photonics has raised $6.5 million in a pre-Series A round led by Pi Ventures to scale its solderable optical interconnects for AI and high-performance computing data centres.  The Bengaluru-based startup claims 4x faster data transfer and roughly 2x lower power use than existing links, and plans to split the funds between R&D and commercial pilots through 2026.

    (02:01) Reditus Space plans reusable reentry vehicle for microgravity R&D 

    US startup Reditus Space has raised $7.1 million in seed funding to build ENOS, a reusable reentry spacecraft aimed at fast-turnaround missions for microgravity research and in-space manufacturing, Payload Space reports. The first ENOS flight, targeting a SpaceX rideshare next summer, will carry a pharma payload, reenter at over Mach 24, and test hardware designed for 20-plus missions and 40 kg payloads.

    (02:38) IonQ, CCRM to apply quantum tech to advanced therapies 

    IonQ has struck an investment and technology partnership with Canada’s Centre for Commercialization of Regenerative Medicine to apply hybrid quantum and quantum-AI tools to bioprocess optimization, disease modelling and advanced therapy manufacturing. IonQ becomes core tech partner across CCRM’s global network, with initial quantum-biotech projects in Canada and Sweden slated for 2026 as part of IonQ’s expanding European strategy.

    (03:10) Sparrow Quantum raises €27.5 million for photonic quantum chips 

    Denmark’s Sparrow Quantum has raised €27.5 million in Series A funding, in what it calls Scandinavia’s largest quantum-tech investment, to scale production of its Sparrow Core single-photon chip for room-temperature photonic quantum systems. The company plans to expand manufacturing and develop next-generation devices based on Niels Bohr Institute research, aiming to become a leading quantum chip supplier for European and global markets.

    (03:44) Vayavya Labs, SimDaaS tie up on autonomous mobility tools 

    Software engineering firm Vayavya Labs has signed an MoU with IIT Kanpur–incubated SimDaaS Autonomy to co-develop simulation-led tools for autonomous driving, ADAS and AI-based virtual validation. The partners will combine digital twin, virtual electronic control units and traffic-scenario simulation capabilities to accelerate virtual testing for complex Indian conditions and export solutions to global mobility markets.

    (04:17) AI-detected ‘hidden’ lion roar may boost conservation

    Scientists have identified a previously unknown “intermediary” lion roar that occurs alongside the classic full-throated call, using AI to sort thousands of recordings with about 95 percent accuracy. The added vocal signature can improve passive acoustic monitoring, helping estimate lion numbers and track individuals more reliably as wild populations fall to roughly 20,000–25,000 across Africa.

  • Sunil Cavale and Vishal Katariya on the evolving chip startup landscape in India

    Sunil Cavale and Vishal Katariya on the evolving chip startup landscape in India

    In today’s episode, I bring you a conversation with Sunil Cavale at Speciale Invest and Vishal Katariya at Ankur Capital, both VC firms well known as early-stage backers of deep tech startups in India.

    Vishal and Sunil discuss their recent report on the Semiconductor Startup Landscape in India.

    India’s chip industry has made significant strides from being only a location for the development centres of global companies, designing to foreign specifications.

    Today, a new cohort of founders — professors spinning out decades of research, veterans of Qualcomm and Texas Instruments, and second‑time chip entrepreneurs — is trying to build products, not just provide services. Their targets range from high‑volume microcontrollers for cameras and smart meters to AI accelerators for data centres and the edge.

    Venture capital is following. Seed rounds are giving way to briskly timed Series-A investments, some closing within 18 months of the seed funding and at two to ten times the earlier cheque sizes. Capital is also broadening beyond specialist funds: family offices, strategic corporates like Zoho and the venture arms of global chipmakers now want a role in the India semicon story.

    Meanwhile, entrepreneurs are pushing beyond fabless design into manufacturing‑adjacent niches such as metrology tools, lithography subsystems and low‑volume prototyping — hedging against the geopolitical fragility of a supply chain still concentrated in Taiwan and the Netherlands.

    Link to the report at Speciale Invest:
    https://www.specialeinvest.com/community?pgid=mdx2tvo7-e24d7063-961f-4de4-b405-ce9282527498
    Link to the report at Ankur Capital:
    https://www.ankurcapital.com/post/semiconductor-startup-landscape-in-india-2025-perspective

    This week’s conversation brings together two investors who have had a ringside view of these shifts. Sunil and Vishal have spent the past few years swapping notes on deals, founders, failures and successes. Out of those conversations that started during one fateful meeting at a McDonald’s in Ghatkopar, in Mumbai, came their Semiconductor Startup Landscape in India report, first presented at IIT Bombay’s SemiX conference.

    Rather than rehearse well-known talking points, they have tried to document what is actually happening on the ground: who the founders are, where the money originates, which verticals are getting crowded and where the genuine white spaces lie. In this episode, they explain why India’s chip moment may finally be real — and what it will take to sustain it.

  • CrisprBits raises $3 million to scale CRISPR diagnostics, biofuel strain engineering

    CrisprBits raises $3 million to scale CRISPR diagnostics, biofuel strain engineering

    Team CrisprBits. CrisprBits, a Bengaluru biotech startup, has raised $3 million in a pre-Series A round to scale its CRISPR-based diagnostics and gene-editing platforms, lifting its valuation to $12 million.
    Team CrisprBits. Image source: company.

    CrisprBits, a Bengaluru biotech startup, has raised $3 million in a pre-Series A round to scale its CRISPR-based diagnostics and gene-editing platforms, lifting its valuation to $12 million. The company plans to use the money to commercialize its PathCrisp molecular diagnostics line and build an AI-augmented strain engineering platform for industrial biofuels.

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    The round was led by Spectrum Impact, the family office of Aarti Industries Ltd.’s Chairman and Managing Director Rajendra Gogri, with participation from existing backers including the Vijay Alreja Family Office (VJ Technologies Group) and new investors such as the promoter family of HBL Engineering Ltd. Earlier funding from the founders, VJ Technologies Group and C-CAMP is being deployed to expand manufacturing capacity across human health, food safety and animal health applications.

    CrisprBits’ investment is happening at a time when CRISPR moves from lab tool to commercial platform in diagnostics, gene therapies and industrial biotech, drawing sustained interest from strategics and financial investors worldwide. Global CRISPR technology revenues are projected to grow at around 11–16 percent annually this decade, with estimates putting the broader CRISPR market in the $5–23 billion range by 2030–2035 as applications in healthcare, agriculture and biomanufacturing scale up.

    “Our focus has always been on attracting patient capital that shares our goal to ‘rewrite biology and reimagine the planet,’ CrisprBits co-founder and CEO Vijay Chandru, said in a press release. “This round gives us the fuel to launch in India and immediately scale to global markets with high-quality, affordable solutions,” he said.

    CrisprBits’ PathCrisp platform targets rapid, point-of-need molecular diagnostics, promising sample-to-result times of under 2.5 hours with minimal infrastructure. The product line spans tests for typhoid, antimicrobial resistance, sickle cell disease, foodborne pathogens and on-farm animal disease surveillance, aimed at hospitals, food processors and livestock producers.

    Beyond diagnostics, the company’s EdiCrisp platform offers end-to-end gene-editing services using the indigenous enFnCas9 system from the Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology, positioned as more precise than legacy SpCas9 systems.

    A third platform, CurieCrisp, combines patient-derived iPSC lines, CRISPR-corrected controls and AI analytics to support preclinical research and rare disease drug discovery, with an emphasis on improving access in the Global South.

    CRISPR stands for clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats, referring to a pattern of repeated DNA sequences found in bacteria and archaea – a major group of single-celled microorganisms.

    CRISPR-Cas9 is a gene-editing technology that acts like molecular scissors, allowing scientists to cut and modify DNA at specific locations in the genome. The tool was adapted for genome editing in 2012 by researchers including Jennifer Doudna and Emmanuelle Charpentier, whose work on CRISPR-Cas9 earned them the 2020 Nobel Prize in Chemistry and set off a wave of applications in medicine, agriculture and basic research.

    Consultancy and market-research estimates suggest that CRISPR-related markets are entering a scale-up phase, particularly in health care. One global forecast pegs the CRISPR technology market at about $3.2 billion in 2025, rising to roughly $5.5 billion by 2030 at an annual growth rate of just over 11 percent, driven by demand for genetic disease therapies, functional genomics tools and next-generation diagnostics.

    Within diagnostics, CRISPR-based tests are expected to grow faster than the broader market as they move into point-of-care infectious disease testing and oncology. The CRISPR-based diagnostics segment alone is projected to climb from around $3.8 billion in 2025 to more than $15 billion by 2034, implying a CAGR of about 16–17 percent as new products win regulatory approvals and reimbursement.

    India has emerged as an early adopter of CRISPR diagnostics, starting with the FELUDA assay developed by CSIR-IGIB and Tata Group in 2020, which demonstrated the feasibility of low-cost CRISPR-based testing for infectious diseases.

    Last week, Union Minister Jitendra Singh launched ‘BIRSA 101’, India’s first indigenous CRISPR-based gene therapy for sickle cell disease, developed at CSIR-IGIB and transferred to the Serum Institute. The therapy aims to make advanced gene-editing cures affordable for Indian patients, particularly tribal populations, supporting the ambition for a Sickle Cell–free India by 2047.

    Domestic market forecasts indicate that India’s CRISPR gene detection and diagnostic segment could grow from around $50 million in the mid-2020s to more than $240 million by 2032, with biomedical diagnostics as the largest and fastest-growing application.

    Recent initiatives include new CRISPR laboratories in Bengaluru for gene editing and diagnostics, and a pipeline of rare-disease and oncology programmes exploring CRISPR-based interventions. Against this backdrop, CrisprBits — founded by BITS Pilani alumni and operating a 7,300-square-foot CRISPR R&D facility in Bengaluru — aims to extend India’s footprint from diagnostic kits to platforms spanning gene editing and sustainable industrial biotechnology.

    With the fresh capital, CrisprBits plans to ramp up manufacturing at its diagnostics facility and expand distribution into Africa and Latin America over the next six months. In parallel, it intends to build an AI-augmented strain engineering platform focused initially on biofuel production, targeting cost and sustainability gains for industrial partners in chemicals and energy.

  • Google, Accel team up to back Indian AI startups, SBI Ventures’ next climate tech fund

    Google, Accel team up to back Indian AI startups, SBI Ventures’ next climate tech fund

    An AI generated image for illustrating an Indian startups co-working space.

    (00:20) Google, Accel to co-invest in Indian AI startups

    Google and Accel will co-invest in at least 10 early-stage Indian AI startups through a new partnership between Google’s AI Futures Fund and Accel’s Atoms programme, with up to 2 million dollars available per company.

    The tie-up, based in Bengaluru, is Google’s first such funding collaboration and follows its $15 billion India data-centre commitment and broader push to tap the country’s nearly one billion internet users.

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    (00:54) India’s largest bank to launch next climate startup fund

    SBI Ventures, promoted by State Bank of India and headquartered in Mumbai, intends to raise Rs. 2,000 crore for its third climate-focused investment fund launching in January-March 2026. The fund will invest in early and growth-stage climate startups, particularly frontier climate technologies and AI-enabled innovations.

    SBI Ventures identified critical funding deficits in water security, climate-smart agriculture, and disaster-proof infrastructure, targeting an estimated $170 billion annual requirement.

    (01:34) Bio-based coastal concrete material nurtures marine life

    Researchers at the Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research in Yerseke tested Xiriton, a bio-based concrete alternative made from grass, shells, sand, lime, pozzolan, and seawater, for tidal restoration.

    After a year, blocks deployed on mudflats were densely colonised by oysters, mussels, and algae while withstanding strong currents, suggesting a durable, degradable, low-alkaline material for greener coastal protection.

    (02:10) German defence drone startup nears €200m raise 

    Munich-based Quantum Systems is close to securing about €200 million in new funding at a roughly $3 billion valuation, just months after becoming a unicorn. 

    The dual-use surveillance drone maker, founded in 2015, is riding Europe’s defence spending boom as governments seek homegrown aerial intelligence, with annual revenue reportedly growing triple digits on the back of contracts in Ukraine and other NATO markets.

    (02:42) Europe backs optical vortex photonics network

    Tampere University in Finland will lead HiPOVor, a €4.4 million EU-funded doctoral network to advance high‑power optical vortex beams and train 15 researchers in photonics.

    The Europe‑wide consortium of eight universities, the ELI‑NP laser facility in Romania, and nine industry partners aims to turn twisting light beams into core tools for precision manufacturing, particle acceleration, and high‑capacity communications from 2026.

  • Agnikul raises fresh funding, smaller coolers for quantum chips, and more

    Agnikul raises fresh funding, smaller coolers for quantum chips, and more

    Moin SPM and Srinath Ravichandran, Co-founders of Agnikul Cosmos, are pioneering India's private small satellite launch vehicles with 3D printed engines.
    Moin SPM and Srinath Ravichandran, Co-founders of Agnikul Cosmos, are pioneering India’s private small satellite launch vehicles with 3D printed engines.

    (00:20) Swiss quantum startup shrinks cooling systems for scalable processors

    YQuantum has raised CHF 150,000 ($186,000) from Venture Kick to commercialize miniaturized cryogenic hardware for quantum computers. The startup’s compact components address a critical bottleneck: scaling superconducting qubits reliably. By replacing bulky cooling systems with high-performance alternatives, YQuantum brings quantum computing closer to practical deployment.

    The engineering team, drawn from UC Berkeley and ETH Zurich, targets a rapidly expanding quantum hardware market projected to reach billions in the coming years. Its first commercial units are expected by mid-2026.

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    (01:10) AI genomics platform launches to scale safer gene therapies

    Cassidy Bio has unveiled its AI-driven genomic foundation model with an $8 million seed round, backed by Ahren Innovation Capital. The platform combines proprietary lab data, population genetics, and machine learning to design gene-editing therapies at scale. By replacing trial-and-error with predictive engineering, Cassidy addresses persistent challenges: target selection, delivery, and off-target effects.

    The founding team unites CRISPR pioneers and AI leaders with the aim of moving genome editing from isolated successes to reliable, scalable medical solutions for millions of patients worldwide.


    (01:56) Swedish chipmaker secures €15 million for advanced etching tech

    AlixLabs has closed a €15 million Series A investment led by Navigare Ventures to accelerate Atomic Layer Etching Pitch Splitting (APS) technology. The breakthrough enables cost-effective production of advanced chips without expensive multi-patterning or exclusive EUV reliance. By slashing process complexity and energy consumption per wafer, APS addresses a critical challenge in chip economics.

    Beta testing with foundry partners begins in 2026, targeting full manufacturing deployment by 2027. The innovation could reshape semiconductor accessibility globally, lowering barriers for advanced chip production.


    (02:47) Agnikul secures $17 million in fresh funding for its space rockets

    Agnikul Cosmos, a Chennai-based space-tech startup, has secured Rs. 150 crore ($17 million) in fresh funding, bringing its valuation to $500 million. The capital will support its next orbital launch mission featuring barge-based booster recovery — a global first for small launch vehicles.

    Agnikul, which is pioneering India’s private small launch vehicles with 3D printed engines, will expand manufacturing, launch frequency, and establish a 350-acre campus in Tamil Nadu, targeting customers in Europe, Asia, and the US.

    (03:30) Cambridge team enables LEDs from ‘un-powerable’ nanoparticles

    Researchers at the University of Cambridge in Britain have achieved a breakthrough by powering electrically insulating lanthanide-doped nanoparticles using organic molecular antennas. The new approach, discovered by a Cavendish Laboratory-led team, enables highly pure near-infrared LEDs, promising advances in biomedical imaging and optical communications. and published the findings in Nature.