Intel, AMD former executives throw the hat into AI semiconductor ring

Time of India

4 days ago

About a dozen executives from semiconductor and chip design companies such as Intel, AMD and Texas Instruments have quit to establish AI chip startups in India to tap into the multibillion-dollar industry.Four from Texas Instruments have started C2i Semiconductors, which is developing products to reduce energy consumption by semiconductors. They have raised $4 million from Yali Capital and Intel CEO Lip Bu-Tan, according to Tracxn.Bodhi Computing, which was acquired by Krutrim, was started by two Intel veterans, Sambit Sahu and Raghuraman Barathalwar. They are currently heading Krutrim's semiconductor initiatives, which ET had reported earlier.
Four former Intel and AMD executives have set up Agrani Labs and are developing indigenous AI chips in Bengaluru. They are in talks to raise $8 million from Peak XV Partners, according to people familiar with the development.
Most of these executives have spent 15-20 years in the semiconductor industry.
India's semiconductor ecosystem is evolving rapidly through a combination of government initiatives such as design-linked incentives, experts said.
Apart from this, the country is becoming a key centre for chip design and development and concentrated efforts are being made to set up semiconductor hubs.
Global semiconductor sales are on track to reach $1 trillion by 2030 from $627 billion in 2024, according to a Deloitte report, driven by the demand for generative AI and other chips, including those for CPUs, GPUs, memory and power.
In addition to this, semiconductor startups — even those that do not cater to the AI space — have seen investor interest in the past year. These include Mindgrove Technologies, InCore and Agnit Semiconductors.
Agrani Labs is developing AI chips for the global market and is currently in stealth mode, according to people aware of the matter. Agrani Labs and Peak XV Partners didn't respond to queries.
C2i Semiconductors, which is also in stealth mode, recently received the first part of funding from the government's design-linked incentive programme, the company announced on LinkedIn.
Krutrim had earlier announced that the company is developing the Bodhi 1 chip, focused on advanced AI models, which is expected to hit the market in 2026. Bodhi 2, focused on training and inferencing, is scheduled for release by 2028.
Others that have received funding recently include InCore, which raised $3 million from Peak XV. Mindgrove Technologies raised $8 million from Peak XV and others. Agnit Semiconductors has raised $4.87 million from 3one4 Capital and others.
The Covid pandemic showed that India needed to develop its own supply chain, said Ganapathy Subramaniam, managing partner, Yali Capital, and former Texas Instruments executive. In the last few years, the government has drawn up several initiatives to develop the ecosystem.
Over the past four decades, the country has produced chip designers for Texas Instruments, Intel and AMD, Subramaniam said.
'India is the second-largest centre for chip design for companies in the US, South Korea and Japan, creating a huge talent pool in the country,' he said.
Challenges
Scaling up semiconductors is still a challenge, said Tarun Pathak, research director, Counterpoint Research.
'India is still dependent on imports for many essential inputs, particularly from China, which holds cost and volume advantages due to its mature manufacturing and efficient supply chains,' he said. 'Matching the scale while keeping the costs down will be a challenge.'
In addition, while government policies help, global original equipment manufacturers have established supply networks and the shift will take time, he said.