DLI-backed Aheesa advances indigenous semiconductor design with VIHAAN chip

New Delhi, Aug 15 (AHN) India's semiconductor design ecosystem is gaining momentum with domestic chip startups moving from design and development to silicon validation and preparations for commercial production, supported by the government's Design Linked Incentive (DLI) Scheme, the government said on Saturday.

Aheesa Digital Innovations -- a Chennai-based fabless semiconductor startup -- has achieved first-pass silicon success for its 'VIHAAN' networking system-on-chip (SoC), designed for fibre broadband applications, as per a statement issued by the Ministry of Electronics & IT.

The chip -- which was taped out on Republic Day and achieved first-pass silicon success on Independence Day this year -- will now proceed towards production tape-out, targeted for 2027.

The company is developing semiconductor solutions for broadband networking and security as India expands digital infrastructure through optical fibre, 5G and broadband-led services, according to the ministry.

The DLI Scheme is supporting Indian startups in developing chips for strategic and commercial applications, including satellite communications, drones, surveillance cameras, defence and aerospace systems, automotive, Internet of Things devices, artificial intelligence, telecom equipment and smart meters, it added.

The government said semiconductor chip design can contribute up to 50 per cent of overall value addition across the semiconductor value chain and account for around 15-35 per cent of the bill of materials cost of electronic products.

In addition, Aheesa has attracted investor interest and raised around Rs 40 crore earlier this year from the Tamil Nadu Emerging Sector Seed Fund and other private investors to accelerate product development and scale its semiconductor business.

Companies supported under the DLI Scheme have cumulatively achieved more than 30 chip design tape-outs across various foundries and raised over $100 million in venture capital funding, the statement said.

Under government semiconductor programmes, chip-design tools have been made available to 455 organisations, including 350 academic institutions and 105 startups.

Meanwhile, 245 chip designs have been taped out by 71 academic institutions under the Chips to Startup programme, says the ministry.

It further noted recent successes by Indian semiconductor companies include Vervesemi Microelectronics' motor controller chip, Netrasemi's 12 nm Vision SoC and OptoML's 12 nm compute-in-memory SoC.

Moreover, the government approved the Semicon 2.0 scheme in July with a Rs 1,27,500 crore outlay to build a globally competitive semiconductor ecosystem spanning chip design, manufacturing, advanced packaging, equipment, materials, research and development, and skilled manpower.