Vervesemi Microelectronics, a fabless semiconductor company backed by India's Design Linked Incentive (DLI) Scheme, has raised $10 million (approximately ₹90 crore) in a Series A funding round. The round was led by investor Ashish Kacholia and Unicorn India Ventures, with participation from Roots Ventures, Caperize Fina, and MAIQ Growth Scheme.
Founded in 2017 by industry veterans with experience at global semiconductor firms, Vervesemi was the first company approved under the DLI Scheme and also receives support from the Chips to Startup (C2S) programme. The company maintains a portfolio of over 140 semiconductor IPs, 25 chip variants, 10 granted patents, and 5 trade secrets. It focuses on chips for space, defence, industrial, and smart energy applications.
Vervesemi in the advanced stages of taping out of several chips, including:
- A multi-function data acquisition chip for avionics (55nm at UMC), fabricated and undergoing customer evaluation, with targeted production in Q1 2027 for an identified space customer.
- A BLDC controller chipset (110nm at UMC), featuring 90% indigenous BOM and using an indigenous RISC-V microprocessor, targeted for fans, exhausts, solar, and power inverters. The controller chip is in fabrication, while the gate driver-MOSFET chip is fabricated and undergoing customer evaluation, with production scheduled for Q4 2026.
- A precision motor-control chip using RISC-V microprocessor (55nm at UMC) for drones, EVs, and industrial automation, fabricated and undergoing testing, targeted for Q3 2026.
- An energy metering chip (180nm at TSMC), fabricated and tested, targeted for Q4 2026.
- A bridge applications chip (180nm at TSMC) for weighing scales and force touch, fabricated and tested, targeted for Q3 2026.
The company was awarded the development of a BLDC controller chip by Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on March 20, 2025. This chip provides a complete power and control solution under $1.50 and targets scalability to 10 million units per year, with 90% BOM made in India.
The funds will support three areas: accelerating commercialization of machine learning-enhanced analog signal chain chips, including data converters and intelligent power and sensing solutions for industrial, smart energy, motor control, and avionics; advancing production readiness and qualification of existing silicon, plus expanding engineering and applications teams for global customers; and expanding the IP portfolio, R&D in next-generation precision analog architectures, and building market presence in Asia, the United States, and other regions to engage OEMs and system companies.
The DLI Scheme, part of the Semicon India Programme, has approved 24 semiconductor design projects from domestic startups and MSMEs for financial support, targeting applications in satellite communications, drones, surveillance, IoT, LED drivers, AI, telecom, and smart meters. Over 400 organizations, including more than 100 startups and 300 academic institutions, have accessed advanced chip design tools at C-DAC Bengaluru, with cumulative usage of 2.25 crore hours.
This funding follows the minister's statement emphasizing India's shift toward becoming a product nation through indigenous hardware and software, ecosystem involvement, and incremental development across technologies, including high-volume chips like BLDC controllers and strategic platforms like RISC-V.
