Agnit Semiconductors raises $2.6 million
Semiconductor startup Agnit Semiconductors has raised $2.6 million in a round led by Shastra VC, with participation from existing investors 3one4 Capital and Zephyr Peacock. The startup is looking to scale up gallium nitride (GaN) semiconductor production and expand into telecom and power electronics applications.
The company has raised $7.47 million to date and will use the new funds to scale production to about 100,000 GaN components over the next two years as it moves from pilot deployments to commercialisation. The round also marks Shastra VC’s first investment in India’s semiconductor ecosystem.
“We now have about three pilots running and the fourth one should kick off by the end of this month,” Hareesh Chandrasekar, cofounder and chief executive of Agnit Semiconductors told ET.
Chandrasekar added that the company is already seeing early visibility in demand from defence platforms. “We see at least two of them (pilots) ramping up into volume production over the next six to nine months,” he said.
Gallium nitride chips are increasingly being used in high-performance electronics such as radar systems, jammers, and wireless communication equipment because of their ability to handle higher power levels and operate more efficiently than traditional silicon-based semiconductors.
If gallium nitride is deployed in a radar system, it requires roughly 10,000 such chips. If there are two radar deployments in a year at a customer’s end, that would mean around 20,000 GaN-based chips, Chandrasekar said.
Beyond defence, the startup is also building products for telecom infrastructure and power electronics.
“Our broader philosophy is that gallium nitride should eventually go into many more use cases and even replace silicon-based power amplifiers in some radio-frequency applications. If that transition is going to happen at scale, then GaN will eventually need to approach silicon-like economics,” Chandrasekar said. He added that the company could look at raising additional capital once early deployments translate into commercial orders.
Commenting on the investment, Ashis Nayak, founding partner at Shastra VC, said gallium nitride is emerging as critical for next-generation electronics across defence and telecom infrastructure. "Agnit is one of India’s most compelling IP-led semiconductor stories, with a strong patent portfolio across GaN materials, wafer processes, and RF device design, built on over a decade of research at IISc," he added.
The company has raised $7.47 million to date and will use the new funds to scale production to about 100,000 GaN components over the next two years as it moves from pilot deployments to commercialisation. The round also marks Shastra VC’s first investment in India’s semiconductor ecosystem.
“We now have about three pilots running and the fourth one should kick off by the end of this month,” Hareesh Chandrasekar, cofounder and chief executive of Agnit Semiconductors told ET.
Chandrasekar added that the company is already seeing early visibility in demand from defence platforms. “We see at least two of them (pilots) ramping up into volume production over the next six to nine months,” he said.
Gallium nitride chips are increasingly being used in high-performance electronics such as radar systems, jammers, and wireless communication equipment because of their ability to handle higher power levels and operate more efficiently than traditional silicon-based semiconductors.
If gallium nitride is deployed in a radar system, it requires roughly 10,000 such chips. If there are two radar deployments in a year at a customer’s end, that would mean around 20,000 GaN-based chips, Chandrasekar said.
Beyond defence, the startup is also building products for telecom infrastructure and power electronics.
“Our broader philosophy is that gallium nitride should eventually go into many more use cases and even replace silicon-based power amplifiers in some radio-frequency applications. If that transition is going to happen at scale, then GaN will eventually need to approach silicon-like economics,” Chandrasekar said. He added that the company could look at raising additional capital once early deployments translate into commercial orders.
Commenting on the investment, Ashis Nayak, founding partner at Shastra VC, said gallium nitride is emerging as critical for next-generation electronics across defence and telecom infrastructure. "Agnit is one of India’s most compelling IP-led semiconductor stories, with a strong patent portfolio across GaN materials, wafer processes, and RF device design, built on over a decade of research at IISc," he added.
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