Indian semiconductor startups have raised around $206 million across 51 funding rounds since 2022. This is according to the Indian Semiconductor Startup Landscape 2026 report, released by venture capital firm Speciale Invest with the Startup Policy Forum.
Investors are now placing fewer, bigger bets on Indian chip companies. Money is flowing to startups that have already moved past early product stages and closer to commercialisation.
Bigger Money, Fewer Rounds
Funding in this Indian semiconductor sector is growing fast. Startups raised $61.9 million in just the first half of 2026 alone. That’s already 81% of the $76.6 million raised across all of 2025.
But the number of deals is shrinking. Funding rounds dropped from 16 in 2024 to 13 in 2025, and just seven in the first half of 2026. Even so, total capital raised keeps climbing. This shows investors are backing fewer companies with larger cheques, rather than spreading money across many early-stage startups.
Government Funding Is Paying Off
The report finds a clear link between government backing and private investment. Of the 24 chip-design projects supported under the Design Linked Incentive (DLI) programme, 14 have gone on to raise institutional venture capital. Together, they’ve pulled in $100.8 million across their first two funding rounds.
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Six of these companies have already closed follow-on rounds worth $53.6 million combined. Four companies alone — C2i Semiconductors, NetraSemi, Morphing Machines, and Mindgrove Technologies — account for about 56% of all private capital raised by DLI-backed firms.
Vishesh Rajaram, Managing Partner at Speciale Invest, said government support is helping companies clear expensive early technical milestones. Private investors are then following with bigger cheques and follow-on funding. He added that the next test is whether this momentum can carry companies into scaled products and globally competitive businesses.
A Broader Startup Base
India’s chip startup ecosystem is also diversifying. Early companies mostly worked on digital, RF, RISC-V, and edge SoCs. Newer startups are now emerging in photonics, power and compound semiconductors, fab tooling, metrology, AI data-centre silicon, and analogue AI inference.
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Arjun Rao, co-founder and General Partner at Speciale Invest, said India’s next wave of investable semiconductor companies won’t come from chip design alone. He pointed to equipment, materials, design IP, EDA, packaging, and AI infrastructure as key growth areas. According to Rao, producing India’s first $100 million-plus semiconductor exit will require strong technical IP, solid founding teams, early customers, and enough capital to survive long product cycles.
Samarjit Kaur is a journalist and communications professional covering technology & emerging digital trends. With a focus on clarity and context, she reports on developments shaping industries and governance. When not reporting, she chooses to plug-in and relax on her playlists and plan her next bucket-list trips!
