Netrasemi, a semiconductor startup, has secured Rs 107 crore in a Series A funding round, spearheaded by Zoho Corporation along with existing investor Unicorn India Ventures, the company announced in a statement on July 24.

The investment has arrived as India intensifies efforts to create a self-sufficient semiconductor ecosystem, highlighting increasing investor interest in deep-tech startups developing local chip solutions for AI and IoT uses.

Netrasemi intends to use the funds to enhance R&D, increase manufacturing capacity, and launch four new system-on-chip (SoC) models into production for industries such as surveillance, industrial robotics, and intelligent infrastructure.

The startup aims to expand its engineering team from 83 to 166 individuals in the coming year.

The most recent funding round brings the total capital raised by the firm to Rs 125 crore, which comprises Rs 10 crore from a Pre-Series A round and Rs 8.3 crore from previous seed rounds.

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Established in 2020 by Jyothis Indirabhai, Sreejith Varma, and Deepa Geetha, Netrasemi specializes in creating energy-efficient AI chips that handle intricate analytics, such as video processing, directly on devices without depending on cloud resources.

"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,” said Jyothis Indirabhai, Co-founder and CEO, Netrasemi.
The company has completed development of two Edge-AI chips, A2000, a high-performance AI video analytics chip, and R1000, a microcontroller chip designed for smart IoT sensors, both of which are currently in the tapeout stage using TSMC’s 12nm technology node.

Over the past year, Netrasemi has initiated development of a CCTV-focused AI camera chip for the Indian market, and has signed MoUs with global partners for early sample access. The startup said it has received interest from several OEMs for platform co-development.

Zoho Corporation, which recently opened an R&D centre in Kottarakara, Kerala, will collaborate with Netrasemi on AI, robotics, and edge processing projects.

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The announcement comes at a time when Zoho has shelved its $700 million plan to enter semiconductor manufacturing due to a lack of confidence in the technology and the need for government backing for such a capital-intensive venture. Zoho's Silectric Semiconductor Manufacturing last year made a handful of hires and a formed a board to oversee chipmaking efforts.