Team Startupcity

· Rs 107 Cr raised in Series A round from Zoho and Unicorn India Ventures.

· Edge AI chips developed for surveillance, robotics, and smart infrastructure.

· Zoho to collaborate on R&D at new Kottarakara campus, boosting rural innovation.

Kerala-based semiconductor firm Netrasemi has raised Rs 107 crore in Series A funding led by Unicorn India Ventures and Zoho Corporation.

 The new capital will be utilized to ramp up R&D, increase manufacturing volumes, and introduce four AI-enabled system-on-chip (SoC) variants for global and domestic OEMs for applications across surveillance, industrial robotics, and smart infrastructure.

Founded by Jyothis Indirabhai, Sreejith Varma, and Deepa Geetha in 2020, Netrasemi develops Edge AI system-on-chips that can process demanding video and AI workloads at the device level reducing cloud computing reliance. The SoCs of the startup include power-efficient deep neural network processing units (NPUs) and a strong portfolio of in-house silicon IPs and are apt for sophisticated, real-time AI analytics.

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The company has already designed two Edge AI chips currently in tapeout process at TSMC's 12nm node and is also designing a CCTV AI camera chip for the Indian market. During the past year, Netrasemi has established evaluation partnerships, signed international MOUs, and received high interest from OEMs for platform design based on its SoCs.

Said by Shailesh Davey, Co-founder and CEO of Zoho Corporation:

Supporting the development of a strong deep-tech ecosystem in India is one of the most important focuses for Zoho, and our investment in Netrasemi indicates that continued effort.

"We share common interests in R&D efforts around robotics, AI, and edge computing. This partnership bolsters indigenous IP development and enables globally competitive innovation from India."

Zoho is also scaling up its rural innovation efforts, having recently opened an R&D center at Kottarakara, Kerala, from where it intends to collaborate with Netrasemi on upcoming initiatives, thus giving employment to local talent in Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities.

Anil Joshi, Managing Partner, Unicorn India Ventures, further contributed:

The world Edge AI market is transforming at a fast pace, creating the demand for specialized and energy-efficient chips that can process real-time AI workloads. Netrasemi is perfectly positioned to spearhead this next generation of semiconductor technology.