Chip Startup Vervesemi Raises $10M for Motor Controller Chips
Vervesemi Microelectronics, a chip design startup supported by India's DLI Scheme, has raised $10 million in Series A funding. The company has successfully taped out designs for motor controller chips used in a variety of applications. The funding underscores investor and government interest in India's growing deeptech and semiconductor sectors.
- The funding round was co-led by veteran investor Ashish Kacholia and Unicorn India Ventures, with participation from Roots Ventures and others, and was reportedly oversubscribed multiple times. - Founders Rakesh Malik (CEO) and Pratap Narayan Singh (CTO) are industry veterans with decades of experience at global semiconductor firms like STMicroelectronics. Malik holds 12 global patents and has published 40 papers with IEEE, while Singh has over 20 years of expertise in high-speed analog and RF circuit design. - The company's core technology involves using machine learning to enhance analog signal chain architectures, which aims to improve reliability, manufacturing yield, and performance in critical applications. - Vervesemi has developed a substantial intellectual property portfolio, including over 140 semiconductor IP blocks, 25 IC product variants, 10 patents, and 5 trade secrets. - The startup is an IP alliance partner within the Samsung Advanced Foundry Ecosystem (SAFE) and also partners with UMC, integrating it into the global semiconductor supply chain. - Beyond generic motor controllers, Vervesemi is developing chips for specific high-reliability sectors, including a data acquisition avionic chip currently under evaluation by a space customer and a new product line for EVs and drones. - As the first startup approved under the government's Design Linked Incentive (DLI) scheme, Vervesemi's success is a key proof point for the policy, which has sanctioned 24 domestic chip design projects to date. - The new capital is earmarked for accelerating the commercialization of its chip portfolio, expanding its engineering and applications teams for global customers, and strengthening its market presence in Asia and the United States.
