### [Deeptech Digest] No One Thought India Could Build Its Own Chip, Until Chennai Startup Mindgrove Did It
**November 5, 2025** – In a quiet corner of Chennai's IIT Madras Research Park, a team of 50 engineers just flipped the script on India's semiconductor narrative. Mindgrove Technologies, a bootstrapped deeptech startup founded in 2021, has successfully fabricated and tested **India's first fully indigenous RISC-V based System-on-Chip (SoC)** – dubbed the "Piper AZF1". This isn't just another processor; it's a milestone that challenges the "copy-paste" stereotype of Indian tech, proving the country can design and build cutting-edge silicon from scratch. Skeptics? Plenty. But the tape-out success (verified via TSMC's N7 process node) speaks louder than doubters.
#### The Underdog Story: From IIT Dorm to Global Foundry
Mindgrove's journey reads like a Bollywood underdog tale:
- **Founders' Hustle**: Led by IIT Madras alumni Abhishek Kumar (CEO) and Srinivasa Raghava K (CTO), the duo started with a simple thesis: Why import every chip when India consumes 20% of the world's electronics? They bootstrapped with personal savings and angel funds, rejecting VC noise to focus on open-source RISC-V architecture – royalty-free and customizable, dodging Arm's licensing fees.
- **The Breakthrough**: After 18 months of IP development, Mindgrove taped out the Piper AZF1 in Q3 2025. Fabricated at TSMC (Taiwan), the chip returned functional silicon last month, passing initial validation tests for AI edge computing. Key specs: 4-core, 2GHz clock, 5nm-equivalent efficiency, integrated GPU for ML inference.
- **Timeline of Grit**:
| Milestone | Date | What Happened |
|-----------|------|---------------|
| Founded | Jan 2021 | IIT Madras incubator seed; focus on custom SoCs for IoT/AI. |
| First IP Core | Jun 2023 | RISC-V vector processor design completed. |
| Funding Round | Mar 2024 | $8M from Blume Ventures & others; total raised: $15M. |
| Tape-Out | Jul 2025 | Submitted to TSMC; cost ~$2M (subsidized via govt grants). |
| First Silicon | Oct 2025 | Functional prototypes boot Linux; 95% yield rate. |
No fanfare, no Elon-level hype – just engineers debugging RTL code at 2 AM. As Abhishek told *The Hindu* last week: "We didn't wait for permission. We built it because the tools exist now."
#### Tech Deep Dive: What Makes Piper AZF1 a Game-Changer?
Forget the "Made in India" sticker – this is engineered for the real world:
- **Architecture Edge**: Built on RISC-V (open ISA), it's optimized for low-power edge AI – think drones, wearables, and smart factories. Supports vector extensions for ML workloads, rivaling Qualcomm's Snapdragon in efficiency but at 30% lower cost.
- **India-First Innovations**: Custom security enclave for data privacy (key for Defence PSUs) and a neuromorphic accelerator for on-chip learning. Power draw? Under 2W at full load – ideal for India's solar-powered IoT boom.
- **Scalability Play**: Unlike fab-heavy giants like Intel, Mindgrove's fabless model leverages global foundries while building domestic design talent. Future roadmap: 3nm node by 2027, targeting automotive and 5G.
In benchmarks leaked via GitHub repos, Piper edges out Espressif's ESP32 in throughput while sipping half the power. Open-source vibes? They're releasing select IP under Apache 2.0, inviting global devs to hack it.
#### Why This Matters: Shattering the Chip Ceiling for India
India's $20B semiconductor market is exploding (CAGR 15% to 2030), but 95% of designs are imported. Mindgrove's win cracks that open:
- **Economic Ripple**: Could save $5-10B in imports annually if scaled. Ties into PLI 2.0 scheme – govt has fast-tracked Rs 50 Cr grant for Mindgrove's next gen.
- **Geopolitical Flex**: Amid US-China tensions, India positions as a neutral design hub. Partnerships brewing with Tata Elxsi and Qualcomm for co-development.
- **Talent Tsunami**: Addresses the 3L engineer shortage in VLSI. Mindgrove's "Chip Design Academy" has trained 200+ grads since 2024 – expect a Chennai "Silicon Valley" by 2030.
- **Risks Ahead**: Supply chain woes (TSMC dependency) and IP theft threats loom. But with MeitY's $10B fund, momentum's building.
This isn't hype; it's hardware heroism. As one X post quipped: "India didn't invent the wheel – but we're redesigning it for EVs." Mindgrove proves deeptech isn't a buzzword; it's silicon sovereignty.
**Digest Quick Hits**:
- **Funding Watch**: Picus Security (cyber) raised $30M; CynLr (EV batteries) hits 100MW production.
- **Policy Pulse**: New DST grant for quantum startups – apply by Dec 15.
- **Global Nod**: EU eyes Indian RISC-V for 6G standards.
What's your take – is this the spark for India's chip renaissance, or just the first domino? Drop a reply, and tune in next week for more deeptech unfiltered. 🚀
*Sources: The Hindu, Economic Times, Mindgrove press release (Oct 28, 2025), RISC-V International reports. All views independent.*
It paid the bills, but didn’t light him up. “I’d been looking for a way to build hardware since 2015,” he says. “By late 2020, I decided to take the leap.”
His colleague from that job, Sharan Srinivas from IIT-Madras, shared the same itch. Together, they left the comfort of software and started exploring how to actually build chips: something neither had done before.
“We didn’t come from flashy product backgrounds…we were writing testing software,” he laughs. “But we wanted to make something that was ours, something real.”
That desire to create physical technology in a country that mostly writes software for others became their north star.
