CHENNAI: While India may not be a major player in the semiconductor industry, that hasn't deterred Mindgrove Technologies, a startup supported by Peak XV Partners and incubated by IIT Madras, from designing the country's first commercial high-performance system-on-chip (SoC). This innovative chip is expected to be manufactured in Taiwan.

These chips, also known as microcontrollers, are based on RISC-V architecture and find applications in various products like vehicles, robots, medical devices, and home appliances. With Mindgrove's entry, Indian manufacturers now have access to a domestically designed chip that costs about 30% less than alternatives without compromising on performance.

"The pandemic highlighted the gap between high-end and low-end players in embedded systems, with the latter prioritizing cost and volume over performance. We aimed to design chips targeting the middle market, focusing on 'right-sizing,' enhanced flexibility, security, and cost-efficiency," said Shashwath TR, CEO and Co-Founder of Mindgrove Technologies.

The SoC, also known as Secure IoT, is the only Indian chip commercially available in this segment. It offers programmability, flexibility, security, and superior computing power for controlling various smart devices. From wearables like smartwatches to utility meters and electric vehicle battery management systems, this chip can handle diverse applications.

India plans to establish a complete semiconductor value chain, starting from design to fabrication and packaging facilities. "We're providing design support to Indian brands to boost innovation and production scale domestically, a crucial step towards self-sufficiency and global competitiveness in the semiconductor and electronics industry," added Shashwath TR.

"India consumes over a billion chips annually, and a significant portion of them can be replaced by Secure IoT. Moreover, there's a global demand for microchips, and we anticipate strong interest from international buyers for an Indian option," he remarked, noting that Tata's upcoming foundry in Gujarat will manufacture the microcontroller.

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