July 25, 2025: Indian semiconductor company Netrasemi is strengthening its mission to bring AI closer to where data is generated. The startup has secured ₹107 crore in fresh funding to accelerate its chip development roadmap, sharpen manufacturing capabilities, and expand into real-time computing applications across industries like surveillance, robotics, and smart infrastructure.
Rather than sending data to the cloud for processing, Netrasemi’s chips aim to enable powerful analytics directly on the devices themselves, saving time, reducing bandwidth use, and enhancing privacy. As part of its strategy, the company will launch four new system-on-chip (SoC) products that integrate AI and video analytics, tailored specifically for original equipment manufacturers (OEMs).
The Series A funding round was led by Zoho Corporation and Unicorn India Ventures. Zoho’s involvement aligns with its broader push to grow India’s deep-tech capabilities. The SaaS company is not only investing capital but also collaborating on R&D initiatives through a newly opened development centre in Kottarakara, Kerala.
Netrasemi Plans 100% Workforce Expansion for Edge AI
“Strengthening India’s deep-tech ecosystem is part of building long-term economic resilience,” said Shailesh Davey, Co-founder and CEO of Zoho. “Partnerships like this allow us to build from the ground up, especially in regions away from the traditional tech hubs.”
Netrasemi, founded in 2020 by Jyothis Indirabhai, Sreejith Varma, and Deepa Geetha, is based in Kerala and specialises in designing chips for edge AI use cases. These chips support domain-specific applications that require real-time processing, such as video-enabled surveillance systems, industrial automation, and IoT infrastructure.
Two of the company’s SoC designs have completed development and are in the tapeout phase, targeting Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company’s (TSMC) 12nm node. These upcoming chips are expected to balance high performance with energy efficiency, crucial for devices operating at the network’s edge.
“In this era of AI automation, general-purpose chips fall short,” said Jyothis Indirabhai, Co-founder and CEO of Netrasemi. “We’re building Domain Specific Architectures (DSA) to meet the performance and power demands of real-time edge AI.”
In the past year, Netrasemi has signed several Memorandums of Understanding with international partners, laying the groundwork for sample releases and joint product development. OEMs have also expressed growing interest in adopting the company’s platform.
Unicorn India Ventures Managing Partner Anil Joshi said the demand for edge AI solutions is rising globally, creating new market opportunities. “We see Netrasemi as a key enabler of the next generation of semiconductor innovation.”
To meet rising demand, the company plans to double its team from 83 to over 160 chip engineers. It also aims to bring three new chip families to production within the next 12–18 months, while beginning R&D on ultra-high-performance chips designed for edge servers, with launches anticipated in early 2026.
