In a big boost to India’s deep-tech and semiconductor landscape, Kerala-based semiconductor startup Netrasemi has raised USD 12.5 million (~INR 107 crore) in a Series A round led by Zoho Corporation and Unicorn India Ventures. This is a big vote of confidence in India’s fabless chip design ecosystem and a big step forward in indigenous Edge AI development.
Founded in 2020 by Jyothis Indirabhai, Sreejith Varma, and Deepa Geetha, Netrasemi is at the forefront of building system-on-chip (SoC) solutions tailored for Edge AI computing. These SoCs are designed to process artificial intelligence and video workloads directly on devices, eliminating the need for cloud dependency—an innovation pivotal to applications such as surveillance, industrial robotics, smart homes, retail systems, and infrastructure.
Funding Purpose and Strategic Expansion
The company stated that the newly acquired capital will be channelled towards:
- Accelerating research and development (R&D)
- Expanding manufacturing capacity
- Enhancing marketing outreach
- Doubling the workforce from 83 to 166 engineers
- Launching four new SoC variants with advanced AI and video analytics capabilities
- Strengthening engagement with original equipment manufacturers (OEMs)
Netrasemi has already completed the development of two Edge AI chips, currently in the tapeout stage, targeting TSMC’s 12nm technology node. These include a video analytics chip and a microcontroller chip for IoT sensors. The startup also announced that it has initiated development of a CCTV AI camera chip specifically for the Indian market, where government initiatives to localise surveillance infrastructure are creating strong demand.
According to CEO Jyothis Indirabhai, “Domain-specific optimisation is no longer a nice-to-have—it’s a necessity. Our efficient Domain-Specific Architecture (DSA) and in-house silicon intellectual property (IP) cores provide the performance and power efficiency needed for real-time on-premise AI computing.”
Growing Industry Footprint and Collaborations
In the last 12 months, Netrasemi has made remarkable progress, including:
- Signing multiple MOUs with global partners for sample release and joint R&D
- Establishing evaluation board agreements
- Securing interest from over eight OEMs for product integration
- Being supported under the MeitY Design Linked Incentive Scheme
The startup is now preparing to begin full mask production of its SoC families and is already charting plans to develop next-generation ultra-high-performance SoCs targeted at edge servers and smart NVR compute platforms within the next 12 to 18 months.
Backers’ Vision: Betting on India’s Deep-Tech Future
This funding round represents more than just capital infusion—it reflects a strategic alignment of long-term R&D and national capability building.
Zoho Corporation, India’s third-largest SaaS company by revenue (INR 8,703 crore in FY23, as per JM Financial), sees this investment as an expansion of its deep-tech ambitions. Speaking about the investment, Shailesh Davey, Co-founder and CEO of Zoho, remarked, “Our interests with Netrasemi align on the R&D front, especially in areas such as robotics, AI, and edge processing. We are supporting indigenous IP and enabling globally competitive products to be built in India.”
Zoho has also opened an R&D centre in Kottarakara, Kerala to nurture talent in Tier 2 and Tier 3 regions. This will be a collaborative centre for joint research projects with Netrasemi.
Anil Joshi, Managing Partner at Unicorn India Ventures, said, “The global Edge AI market is growing fast and we need energy efficient semiconductor solutions that can process in real time. We think Netrasemi is well placed to lead the next wave in this space.”
Building India’s Semiconductor Story
Netrasemi’s journey is a microcosm of the larger shift in India’s tech ambitions. As the government rolls out policies and funding for semiconductors, startups like Netrasemi are building self-reliant high-performance computing infrastructure.
Their chips are designed for domain-specific use cases, cost-effective and power efficient—two key factors to Edge AI scalability in emerging markets. Their roadmap has a strong focus on surveillance, smart infrastructure, smart city initiatives and automation in industry—all areas that are going to see explosive growth
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