Netrasemi Raises ₹107 Cr To Build

Every “smart” device you see today — cameras, drones, industrial machines, medical equipment — depends on chips designed elsewhere.

India :

• Import almost 100% of its semiconductor chips
• Manufactures barely 0.01%, mostly for defence or space
• Has brilliant engineers… but no control over core components

Without chips, true product innovation stalls.You assemble. You integrate. You don’t own.

And that’s the gap Netrasemi stepped into.

To understand Netrasemi, you need one key idea : Edge AI

Instead of sending data to the cloud for processing, edge AI chips process data directly on the device.

That means :

• Faster decisions (milliseconds matter)
• Better privacy (data never leaves the device)
• Lower power consumption
• Reliable performance even without internet

Think :

• Security cameras detecting threats instantly
• Drones navigating warehouses autonomously
• Industrial machines spotting faults in real time

This is where the future is heading.

And Netrasemi isn’t buying this technology — they’re building it from scratch.

Most startups pick one chip and hope it works.

Netrasemi took a harder path.

Led by Jyothis Indirabhai (CEO) along with semiconductor veterans Sreejith Varma and Deepa Geetha, the company decided to first build deep IP (intellectual property) before even manufacturing a single chip.

Their approach :

• Domain-specific AI accelerators
• Different chips for surveillance, robotics, drones, automation
• Designed for cost, power efficiency, and performance

They deliberately delayed tape-out (sending designs for manufacturing) until the tech and business logic were solid.

In semiconductors, patience isn’t optional — it’s survival.

Semiconductors are not software startups.

You can’t “ship fast and iterate”.

Each mistake costs crores.

This funding arrives at a critical transition point :

• From R&D → commercialisation
• From prototypes → production-ready SoCs
• From vision → real customers

Netrasemi is now:

• Tape-out ready with two video-enabled edge AI chips
• Planning four SoC variants for production
• Targeting launches by early 2026
• Preparing next-gen chips for edge servers

This is where Indian deeptech usually dies.

This time, it’s getting oxygen.

For once, policy met timing.

India’s Design Linked Incentive (DLI) and Chip-to-System (C2S) programs are quietly changing the equation by :

• Reimbursing design costs
• Supporting prototyping
• Reducing early-stage risk

This matters because chips take 7–8 years to mature — far longer than typical VC patience.

Without policy backing, deeptech dreams collapse early.

Jyothis is clear-eyed about competition :

• US, Israel, China are spending billions
• Giants like NVIDIA dominate globally

India cannot outspend them.

So Netrasemi’s playbook is different:

• Focus on edge AI niches
• Build homegrown IP
• Stay lean, not bloated
• Win on specific use cases, not generic chips

This isn’t about becoming NVIDIA.
It’s about becoming essential.

One of the strongest lessons from this story :

• Premature investment can lock you into a premature idea.

In software, you pivot fast.
In semiconductors, a wrong turn costs years.

Netrasemi chose :

• Deep R&D first
• Validation before valuation
• Long-term thinking over hype

That’s rare — and refreshing.

This isn’t just a semiconductor story.

It’s a template :

• Build core IP, not wrappers
• Solve hard problems others avoid
• Use government schemes strategically
• Be patient where the market wants speed

If India wants to move from services → products → platforms, companies like Netrasemi are non-negotiable.

India doesn’t lack talent.
It lacks ownership of fundamentals.

Netrasemi is showing what happens when founders choose :

• Depth over buzz
• Engineering over noise
• India-first, but global-ready thinking

As Jyothis puts it :

• You should expect really cool chips from India — built for India, and for the globe.

And honestly, that’s a future worth betting on.

Want more real startup stories like this — not hype, but hard-earned progress?
Stay tuned to Vyapaarवाणी, Where Bharat’s builders speak quietly… and build loudly.