Sridhar Vembu's Zoho, others invests Rs 107 crore in semicon startup Netrasemi

Kerala-based Semiconductor startup Netrasemi has raised Rs 107 crore in a Series A funding round from Zoho Corporations Ltd and Unicorn India Ventures.

The startup will use the raised capital for accelerating research and development initiatives, expand manufacturing capabilities, enhance marketing efforts to capture larger domestic and global market share, bring four system-on-chip variants with advanced AI and video analytics features into production and address compute platform requirements of original equipment manufactures (OEMs) for surveillance, industrial robotics, and smart infrastructure products. 

Notably, it has completed development of two SoC products currently in the tapeout stage targeting TSMC's 12nm technology node.

Building system-on-chips (SOC)

Founded in 2020 by Jyothis Indirabhai, Sreejith Varma and Deepa Geetha, Netrasemi is an Indian Edge AI semiconductor technology startup building system-on-chips (SOC) to enable the new-age need for optimal computing for smart IoT products.

The startup is focused on developing system-on-chips (SoCs) designed to deliver optimal computing for smart IoT products, particularly those handling complex workloads such as video processing.

Its chips are designed to perform advanced AI-based analytics directly on devices, eliminating the need to send data to servers or the cloud. This capability is powered by Netrasemi's energy-efficient deep-neural AI acceleration core (NPU) and comprehensive portfolio of in-house silicon intellectual properties, the release notes. 

In the last 12 months, the startup has completed development of two Edge-AI chips with advanced video capabilities, initiated development of CCTV AI camera chip for Indian market, established partner agreements for evaluation boards and platform development, signed multiple MOUs with global partners for sample release and product R&D and secured interest and requirements from multiple OEMs for platform development using Netrasemi SoCs. 

"Supporting the growth of a strong deep-tech ecosystem in India is a key focus for Zoho, and our investment in Netrasemi reflects that ongoing effort. Developing advanced technological capabilities and expertise within the country can drive long-term progress in critical sectors, ultimately contributing to economic resilience and self-reliance,” said Shailesh Davey, Co-founder and CEO, Zoho Corporation.

"Our interests with Netrasemi also align on the R&D front, especially in areas such as robotics,  AI and edge processing. Through this investment, we are supporting the development of indigenous IP and innovation, paving the way for globally competitive products to be built in India,” Davey added.

Zoho Corporation has been promoting rural development with R&D, by creating opportunities for youth to work in technology sector in villages and Tier 2/3 towns, nurturing and developing the local talent. As part of that effort, it recently opened an R&D centre in Kottarakara, Kerala.

The company will be collaborating on R&D projects with Netrasemi at this campus. 

Anil Joshi, Managing Partner, Unicorn India Ventures, said, “The global edge AI market is evolving at a rapid rate with profound transformations and driving demand for specialized energy efficient semiconductor solutions capable of running AI workloads in real time. We believe Netrasemi has opened up new markets and will be leading the next wave of innovation in the semiconductor industry.”

Aiming to double workforce

Netrasemi plans to double the current workforce from 83 to 166 chip engineering professionals, target diverse applications across surveillance, industrial robotics, smart home devices, smart city infrastructure and retail sectors.

Additionally, the startup also plans to increase customer and partner engagement activities along with a focus on next generation chips with superior performance and features.

Jyothis Indirabhai, Co-founder & CEO, Netrasemi, said, "In the new age of AI-based automation and next-generation smart devices, domain-specific optimization is no longer a nice-to-have feature—it's a necessity. Netrasemi's efficient Domain Specific Architecture (DSA) and optimal intellectual property silicon cores enable both performance and energy efficiency needed for real-time on-device, on-premise computing at the edge. Our chips are designed based on various end-customer application requirements and are both power-efficient and cost-effective.” 

In the next 12-18 months, Netrasemi aims to complete full mask production of all three SoC families and initiate R&D for next-generation ultra-high performance SoC potentially addressing edge-servers and smart NVR compute requirements.