Netrasemi, a Kerala-based semiconductor startup backed by SaaS company Zoho, has successfully tested A2000, its flagship AI system-on-chip (SoC), and declared it production-ready.
The company is now running early trials with three customers in the surveillance and automotive sectors, ahead of a commercial launch targeted for mid-2027, chief executive Jyothis Indirabhai told ET.
Volume production, at chip manufacturer TSMC's Taiwan facility, is slated for 2027.
"We have designed this chip specifically for compact, power-efficient edge devices. We are currently working with several OEMs on early sample evaluations and co-development," said Indirabhai.
The A2000 is built on TSMC's 12nm process and targets smart cameras, edge AI boxes and intelligent video gateways. The chip packs several processing units developed in-house by Netrasemi, including dedicated engines for neural processing, computer vision, image handling and security. The company said it will share the chip design with select OEMs for joint development.
The A2000 is among the first AI/ML chips to be designed in India. Netrasemi was one of four startups selected for Rs 15 crore support under the government's Design Linked Incentive (DLI) scheme in 2023. The company has raised Rs 125 crore in total funding to date from various investors, including Zoho and Unicorn India Ventures.
Separately, Netrasemi has developed a second chip, the R1000 AI/ML MCU, targeting the IoT sensor market. The chip was developed in collaboration with the College of Engineering – Trivandrum under the MeitY Chip-to-Startup (C2S) programme and went for fabrication last month, also at TSMC’s 12nm node. It is described as the first Indian AI chip developed through an academic collaboration.
Netrasemi is also developing an advanced edge AI server chip, the A4000, with MeitY support. It is expected to be fabrication-ready by Q2 2027, the company said.
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