Indian Chip Startups Nearly Match 2025’s Entire Funding Total in H1 2026

Indian semiconductor startups raised $61.9 million in the first half of 2026, already reaching 81% of the $76.6 million raised in the entirety of 2025, according to the Indian Semiconductor Startup Landscape 2026 report by Speciale Invest and Startup Policy Forum (SPF).

The funding came through just seven rounds in H1 2026, compared to 13 rounds in 2025 and 16 in 2024. The decline in deal count alongside the rise in capital deployed indicates that investors are concentrating larger cheques in semiconductor startups that have progressed further in product development and commercialisation.

Since 2022, Indian semiconductor startups have raised approximately $206 million across 51 funding rounds. Funding increased sharply from $1.5 million in 2022 to $76.6 million in 2025, a roughly 51-fold increase.

Government-backed programmes are also helping startups reach milestones that can attract private capital. Of the 24 chip-design projects supported under the Design Linked Incentive (DLI) programme, 14 have subsequently raised institutional venture capital, collectively securing $100.8 million across their first and second rounds. Six of these companies have already raised follow-on rounds worth a combined $53.6 million.

Four companies—C2i Semiconductors, NetraSemi, Morphing Machines, and Mindgrove Technologies—account for approximately 56% of the private capital raised by DLI-backed companies. The report says public funding for design, tooling, and tape-outs is helping startups cross expensive technical milestones before attracting institutional investors.

The funding is also moving into larger rounds. Seven recent Series A rounds highlighted in the report account for $73.7 million, or roughly one-third of all semiconductor startup capital raised in India since 2022. Some companies have progressed from seed to Series A within seven to 22 months.

Vishesh Rajaram, Managing Partner at Speciale Invest, said the next test for India's semiconductor ecosystem is whether the current momentum can take companies beyond design and validation into scaled products, repeat customers, and globally relevant businesses.

The startup landscape is also expanding beyond chip design into photonics, power and compound semiconductors, fab tooling and metrology, AI data-centre silicon, AI-led semiconductor design workflows, and analog AI inference.

The report identifies equipment and materials, design IP and EDA, and analog and RF as major areas of opportunity over the coming decade. It also expects India Semiconductor Mission 2.0 to potentially expand opportunities in fab-adjacent tooling, compound semiconductors, advanced packaging, RISC-V IP and AI-assisted EDA and verification tooling.

Strategic investors are playing a growing role, with companies including Zoho and TDK Ventures anchoring funding rounds.