Semiconductor startup Netrasemi has raised ₹107 crore in a Series A funding round led by Zoho Corporation and Unicorn India Ventures, as the company gears up to expand its portfolio of Edge AI system-on-chips (SoCs) for smart infrastructure, robotics and surveillance markets.
The Kerala-headquartered deep-tech company said the funds will be used to bring four SoC variants into production, enhance R&D, scale up chip manufacturing and strengthen domestic and global customer engagement. The round follows ₹10 crore raised in a Pre-Series A round from Unicorn India Ventures and earlier seed capital of ₹8.3 crore.
Founded in 2020 by Jyothis Indirabhai, Sreejith Varma and Deepa Geetha, Netrasemi designs domain-specific Edge-AI SoCs that allow smart devices to perform compute-heavy tasks like video analytics directly on-device. Its architecture eliminates the need for continuous cloud connectivity by enabling energy-efficient, real-time inference using in-house AI acceleration cores (NPU) and proprietary silicon IP.
The company said it has successfully completed development of two chips, A2000, a high-resolution video AI processor, and R1000, an AI microcontroller for smart IoT sensors. Both chips are currently in the tapeout stage targeting TSMC’s 12nm technology node. In parallel, Netrasemi has begun development of a CCTV-focused AI chip tailored to the Indian market.
Over the past year, the startup said it has signed MOUs with global OEMs and partners for early access and platform co-development, secured design wins across industrial and surveillance sectors, and onboarded customers evaluating its SoC architecture for production-scale deployment.
“In the age of AI-driven automation, domain-specific optimisation is critical—not optional,” said Jyothis Indirabhai, Co-founder and CEO, Netrasemi. “Our energy-efficient silicon cores and architecture enable performance and cost efficiency at the edge. Backing from Zoho and continued support from Unicorn India Ventures validates our thesis and accelerates our roadmap.”
Zoho Corporation, which recently set up an R&D centre in Kottarakara, Kerala, said the investment aligns with its focus on building India’s deep-tech infrastructure and fostering local innovation.
“Supporting deep-tech innovation is central to Zoho’s vision for a self-reliant India,” said Shailesh Davey, Co-founder, Zoho Corporation. “Our partnership with Netrasemi includes R&D collaboration in edge AI, robotics, and video processing, and furthers our mission to nurture high-tech capabilities in India’s Tier 2 and 3 towns.”
Commenting on the round, Anil Joshi, Managing Partner at Unicorn India Ventures, said, “Edge AI is rapidly transforming how compute happens in real-time environments. Netrasemi’s SoCs are tailored for this shift, and we’re confident they’ll play a pivotal role in India’s semiconductor innovation landscape.”
With 83 engineers on board, Netrasemi said it plans to double headcount to 166 over the next year. The company also aims to launch next-generation ultra-high performance SoCs in 2026 targeting smart NVRs and edge-server markets.
The company is backed by the Ministry of Electronics and IT (MeitY) under India’s semiconductor initiatives like Design Linked Incentive (DLI) and Chips to Startup (C2S). Netrasemi has also received incubation support from TrEST Park, KSUM, and IIM Kozhikode.
