Bengaluru-based Gallium Nitride (GaN) startup AGNIT Semiconductors has raised $3.5 million in a seed funding round led by 3one4 Capital and Zephyr Peacock, marking their first investment in India’s semiconductor industry.

The round also included participation from Lakshmi Narayanan, former CEO of Cognizant and an angel investor. This brings AGNIT’s total funding to $4.87 million. The new capital will be used to scale production and expand commercial operations.

AGNIT plans to diversify into consumer electronics and electric two-wheelers to cater to evolving market demands and aims to sell 100,000 semiconductor chips within the next 12 months.

Pranav Pai, Founding Partner and CIO of 3one4 Capital, praised the company’s innovation, stating, “AGNIT Semiconductors is pioneering Gallium Nitride technology in India, a critical advancement for the future of global electronics and energy systems. AGNIT embodies the rise of Indian deep-tech startups—rooted in research, targeting transformative technologies, and poised for global impact. We’re thrilled to support their growth and help take Indian semiconductor technology to the world.”

AGNIT is one of the first startups nurtured by the Gallium Nitride Ecosystem Enabling Centre and Incubator, managed by the Foundation for Science Innovation and Development (FSID) at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), with funding from the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY).

Reflecting on the company’s journey, Co-Founder and CEO Hareesh Chandrasekar said, “Closing our seed round marks a significant milestone in our five-year mission to advance GaN technology for specialized applications. GaN holds transformative potential across sectors like 5G, fast charging, and PV inverters. This achievement was made possible by the support of IISc and MeitY.”