Netrasemi completes A2000 chip testing, targets 2027 launch for edge AI and smart cameras

Indian semicon firm Netrasemi plans mass production of its first chip this year

Indian AI chip maker Netrasemi is set to launch its A2000 chipset this year. The chip has successfully passed its initial testing phase. This system on chip will power smart cameras and edge AI devices. It enables real-time video analysis and on-device artificial intelligence. Netrasemi is collaborating with manufacturers for early sample evaluations. New Delhi, Indigenous semiconductor start-up Netrasemi flagship AI chipset, A2000, has achieved silicon bringup and getting ready for commercial production this year, the company said on Thursday. Backed by Zoho and supported by the government's design-linked incentive (DLI) programme, the A2000 system on chip (SoC) will facilitate smart vision and real-time video analytics capabilities enabling on-device AI for smart cameras and edge AI platforms. "Netrasemi has announced the launch of its flagship AI system on chip A2000. The chip has now achieves successful silicon Bringup and getting ready for commercial production," the company said in a statement. A system on chip integrates multiple functions on a semiconductor, which generally includes circuits for data processing and storage function. A chip design achieves final close with tape-out process and it is then sent to wafer fabrication plant for sample production. The physical sample of the chip then goes through silicon bringup process, which is validating all its functions as envisaged at the time of design. The commercial production of the chip is initiated only after it successfully achieves silicon bringup. Use cases for A2000 include surveillance through drones and CCTVs, robotics, intelligent video gateways and industrial automation. The chip fabricated at Taiwan's TSMC 12 nano-meter technology node. The chip size smaller than the chip that is initially planned to be produced in India at Tata Electronics semiconductor facility at Dholera in Gujarat. "Our SoCs go beyond conventional AI and ML integration by combining proprietary hardware acceleration IPs with domain-specific optimisations tailored for high-performance, real-time edge AI. The architecture is designed specifically for compact, power- and cost-sensitive edge devices. We are currently working with several leading OEMs to facilitate early sample evaluations, co-development, and advanced R&D initiatives," Netrasemi Co-founder and CEO Jyothis Indirabhai said. Netrasemi has raised Rs 125 crore in total funding to date from its marquee investors, including Zoho and Unicorn India Ventures. The company was one of the first four start-ups selected for Rs 15 crore DLI support in 2023 by Meity.

Zoho-backed Netrasemi launches its first AI chip, begins customer trials

Kerala-based Netrasemi, backed by Zoho, has successfully tested its A2000 AI chip, now production-ready for edge devices. Early trials are underway with customers in surveillance and automotive sectors, targeting a mid-2027 commercial launch. This Indian-designed chip, built on TSMC's 12nm process, is among the first of its kind. Netrasemi, a Kerala-based semiconductor startup backed by Zoho, has successfully tested its flagship A2000 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 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 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 on TSMC's 12nm node. It is described as the first Indian AI chip developed through an academic collaboration. The company is also developing an advanced edge AI server chip, the A4000, with MeitY support. It is expected to be fabrication-ready by Q2 2027, said the company.

Netrasemi launches its flagship Edge AI System-on-chip A2000

Fabless startup Netrasemi has announced the launch of its flagship AI system on chip (SOC) A2000. The chip has now achieves successful silicon Bringup and getting ready for commercial production. The SoC chip with smart vision and real-time video analytics capabilities enables on-device AI for smart cameras and Edge AI platforms. The chip fabricated at TSMC's 12nm advanced process node targets high-TOPS AI performance, computer vision, Video streaming, secure boot and significant IO capabilities such as PCIe. A2000 is one of India's first AI/ML chips and it features Netrasemi's in-house Neural processor (NPU), Vision cores (VPU), Image Signal Processor(ISP), Crypto-Engines and other hardware acceleration IP cores. It also features their patented Heterogeneous graph-stream parallel processing architecture. The chip design will be shared with select OEMs for joint R&D to develop further commercial use cases. The chip commercial production is likely to begin next year at TSMC, Taiwan. Jyothis Indirabhai, Co-founder CEO, Netrasemi, says, "Our SoCs goes beyond conventional AI/ML integration by combining proprietary hardware acceleration IPs with domain-specific optimizations tailored for high-performance, real-time edge AI. The architecture is designed specifically for compact, power- and cost-sensitive edge devices. We are currently working with several leading OEMs to facilitate early sample evaluations, co-development, and advanced R&D initiatives" Govt of India's (MeitY) Semiconductor Design Linked Incentives (DLI) and Design Infrastructure Support (DIS) played a key role in achieving this critical milestone. The company was one of the first 4 startups selected for 15Cr INR DLI support in 2023 by MeitY. Netrasemi has raised Rs 125 crore in total funding till date from its marquee investors including ZOHO and Unicorn India Ventures. These highly secure and power efficient AI chips target applications like smart cameras for surveillance, Edge AI boxes and Intelligent video gateways. The chip will go to volume production in 2027 and it is expected to address challenges of global platform developers in bringing advanced AI algorithms to small edge devices.