Ø DLI Scheme-backed Chip Design Startup
- Aheesa Digital Innovations Achieved First-Pass Silicon
Success With ‘VIHAAN’, a Broadband Chip Built Using the Indigenous VEGA Microprocessor
Ø VIHAAN Aims to Bring Fibre Broadband to
Indian Homes and Has Attracted VC Funding from the Tamil Nadu Infrastructure Fund
Management Corporation (TNIFMC) and Other Investors
Ø DLI Scheme-backed Companies Have Cumulatively
Raised Over $100 Million in VC Funding and Achieved 35 Design Tape-outs
1. Chip design is a major value driver:
Semiconductor design contributes up to 50%
of value addition across the semiconductor value chain and
accounts for around 15–35%
of the BOM cost of electronic products.
2. DLI Scheme supports Indian startups: The Design Linked Incentive (DLI) Scheme
is helping Indian startups develop semiconductor designs for strategic and
commercial applications.
3. Wide range of applications:
Supported designs cover satellite
communications, drones, surveillance, defence and aerospace, automotive, IoT,
AI systems, telecom equipment, LED drivers and smart meters.
4. Aheesa
Digital Innovations achieves breakthrough:
Chennai-based fabless startup Aheesa Digital Innovations has
achieved first-pass silicon success for VIHAAN,
a networking System-on-Chip (SoC) designed specifically for fibre broadband.
5. VIHAAN moves toward production: After
successful tape-out and silicon validation, VIHAAN will proceed toward production tape-out targeted for 2027.
6. Focus on domestic broadband requirements: With
India's rapid expansion of optical
fibre, 5G and broadband infrastructure, domestically designed
networking chips are becoming increasingly important.
7. Strong investor confidence: Aheesa raised around ₹40
crore from the Tamil Nadu Infrastructure Fund Management
Corporation (TNIFMC) through the Tamil
Nadu Emerging Sector Seed Fund (TNESSF) and private investors.
8. DLI support helping startups scale:
Funding received following DLI approval demonstrates increasing investor
confidence in India's ability to develop advanced
semiconductor products domestically.
9. Chip-design tools widely available:
Government semiconductor programmes have provided advanced chip-design tools to
455 organisations,
including 350 academic
institutions and 105 startups.
10. More than 30 DLI tape-outs:
Companies supported under the DLI Scheme have collectively achieved over 30 chip-design tape-outs
across different foundries.
11. Growing venture capital investment:
DLI-supported companies have raised more
than US$100 million in venture capital, indicating increasing
private-sector confidence in Indian semiconductor design.
12. C2S Programme builds talent: Under
the Chips to Startup (C2S)
Programme, 245
chip designs have been taped out by 71 academic institutions,
supporting the development of India's future semiconductor workforce.
13. Other indigenous chip successes:
·
Vervesemi
Microelectronics: Achieved first-pass silicon success for a
BLDC motor-controller chip using an indigenous microprocessor and motor-driver
technology.
·
Netrasemi:
Successfully tested a 12nm
Vision SoC with integrated video-analytics acceleration.
·
OptoML:
Received its 12nm
compute-in-memory SoC, aimed at faster and more power-efficient
AI processing.
·
Mindgrove
Technologies: Partnered with PRAMA India to explore
deployment of its Vision SoC in CCTV
surveillance cameras.
·
IndieSemiC:
Secured global certification for its Bluetooth/BLE
6 chip module.
14. Building the entire semiconductor value
chain: India's semiconductor strategy extends
beyond chip design to fabrication,
advanced packaging, equipment, materials, R&D and skilled manpower.
15. Semicon 2.0
provides major boost: Approved in July 2026 with an outlay of
₹1,27,500 crore, Semicon 2.0
aims to take India's semiconductor ecosystem to the next stage and create a globally competitive industry.
16. Shift from laboratory to
commercialisation: Indian chip designs are increasingly
progressing from design to fabrication,
testing, validation and customer trials, indicating greater
technological maturity.
17. Towards volume production: As
silicon-validated designs progress into volume manufacturing, Indian
semiconductor companies could emerge as credible
global suppliers, while reducing dependence on imported
technology and strengthening domestic supply chains.
India's semiconductor strategy is moving
from chip-design capability to commercial semiconductor production. The
DLI and C2S programmes are creating a pipeline of indigenous designs, startups,
investment and talent, while Semicon 2.0's ₹1.275 lakh crore outlay
aims to build an end-to-end semiconductor ecosystem and strengthen India's
position as a global chip-design and manufacturing hub.
[ABS News Service/17.08.2026]
Semiconductor chip design is a critical
value driver across the semiconductor value chain, contributing up to 50% of overall
value addition and accounting for approximately 15–35% of the Bill of Materials
(BOM) cost of electronic products.
Recognising the pivotal role of semiconductor
design in the country’s strategic technological ambitions, the Design Linked Incentive
(DLI) Scheme is supporting Indian Startups for designing chips for a wide range
of strategic and commercial applications. These include satellite communications,
drones, surveillance cameras, Defence and Aerospace Systems, Automotive, Internet
of Things (IoT) devices, LED drivers, AI systems, Telecom Equipment, and Smart Meters.
Aheesa Digital Innovations
Headquartered in Chennai, Aheesa is an Indian fabless semiconductor startup that designs
chips for broadband networking and security. Taped out on Republic Day and achieving
first-pass silicon success on Independence Day this year, ‘VIHAAN’ - a networking
System-on-Chip (SoC) purpose-built for Fibre Broadband- will now proceed towards
production tape-out, targeted for 2027.
As India expands its digital infrastructure
through optical fibre, 5G, and broadband-led services, the need for domestically
designed semiconductor solutions is growing. Aheesa, through
its VIHAAN series, successive funding milestones, and active support from the DLI
Scheme, is positioned to serve this need.
Investor Confidence - Supporting India’s
Deep-Tech Innovation to Scale Global Solutions
Earlier this year, Aheesa
raised about ₹40 crore from TNIFMC through the Tamil Nadu Emerging Sector
Seed Fund (TNESSF) and other private investors to accelerate product development
and support the company’s growth in the semiconductor space. These successive rounds
of funding after approval under the DLI Scheme reflects growing confidence of investors
in Aheesa's ability to deliver advanced broadband silicon
solutions from India.
Government support helping Indian chip companies
move from idea to product
Aheesa’s achievement is part of a larger transformation
taking place in India’s semiconductor design ecosystem. Through the Government’s
semiconductor programmes, state-of-the-art chip-design tools made available to 455
organisations, including 350 academic institutions and 105 startups, enabling students,
researchers and companies across the country to design chips.
Companies supported under the DLI Scheme
have cumulatively achieved over 30 chip design tape-outs across various foundries
and raised more than US$100 million in VC funding, demonstrating growing investor
confidence in India’s semiconductor design capabilities. Under the Chips to Startup
(C2S) Programme, 245 chip designs have been taped out by 71 academic institutions,
to meet future workforce requirements.
Other recent successes under the Scheme
1. Vervesemi Microelectronics
achieved first-pass silicon success of BLDC Motor Controller chip using indigenous
microprocessor by Incore Semiconductor and its Motor Driver
chip.
2. Netrasemi successfully tested 12nm Vision SoC with
integrated video analytics acceleration.
3. OptoML received its
12nm ‘compute-in-memory’ SoC, which makes AI processing faster and power-efficient.
4. Mindgrove Technologies announced a partnership with PRAMA India
to explore the usage of its Vision SoC in CCTV surveillance cameras.
5. IndieSemiC secured
global certification for its Bluetooth (BLE 6) chip module.
Building an Indian semiconductor ecosystem
The Government’s semiconductor initiatives
are aimed not merely at designing individual chips, but at building an ecosystem
covering the entire semiconductor value chain — from chip design and manufacturing
to advanced packaging, equipment, materials, research and development, and skilled
manpower. With Semicon 2.0, approved with an outlay of
₹1,27,500 crore in July 2026, India is taking this effort to the next level,
with the objective of building a globally competitive semiconductor ecosystem.
The progress of companies such as Aheesa Digital Innovations demonstrates that Indian semiconductor
designs are increasingly moving beyond the laboratory. Chips designed in India are
now being fabricated, tested, validated, and prepared for customer trials. As the
ecosystem matures, silicon-validated designs will move towards volume manufacturing,
positioning Indian companies as credible global suppliers while strengthening domestic
supply chains and self-reliance.