KOCHI: Kerala-based semiconductor startup Netrasemi has raised Rs 107 crore in the Series A round from Zoho Corporations Ltd & Unicorn India Ventures. This is the single largest funding raised by the startup compared to the earlier rounds. In the earlier rounds, the company had raised a total of Rs 125 crore.
Speaking to TNIE, Jyothis Indirabhai, co-founder and CEO of Netrasemi, said, “The funds raised will be used 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.”
According to him, the startup has successfully completed the development of two System on a Chip (SoC) products. “The company is focused on developing SoCs that enable optimal computing for smart IoT products, particularly for addressing complex workloads like video processing. These chips can be used in devices, making them capable of performing advanced AI-based analytics directly, 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. In the last 12 months, the company 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.
According to Jyothis, 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, he added.
“Netrasemi chips enable solution players to develop advanced ML and vision application use cases faster and with ease. We not only make advanced SoCs, but own the IP cores that go inside to make them achieve edge-efficient computing,” he says.
Netrasemi founders felt that being backed by Zoho will help the company leverage their rich market knowledge and help them enter new industry segments through strong R&D collaboration and joint vision.
“We highly value Unicorn India Venture's reinvestment and their confidence in our progress and growth potential. We are also thankful for the infrastructure and other support received from institutions like TrEST research park, IIM-K, and KSUM. 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,” said Jyothis.
In a release, Shailesh Davey, co-founder and CEO of Zoho Corporation, said, “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.”
Davey added that Zoho's 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,” he said.
The company will be collaborating on R&D projects with Netrasemi at its Kottarakara campus.
Founded in 2020 by Jyothis Indirabhai, Sreejith Varma, and Deepa Geetha, Netrasemi is a semiconductor technology startup focused on developing system-on-chip (SoCs) that enable optimal computing for smart IoT products, particularly for addressing complex workloads like video processing.