NEW DELHI: India’s semiconductor chip design ecosystem is gaining steady momentum, with startups supported under the Design Linked Incentive (DLI) Scheme drawing increasing interest from investors as well as end users. Traditionally, semiconductor ventures require long development cycles, significant R&D investment and face higher technical risks before revenue generation begins — factors that have historically made early-stage investors cautious. As a result, venture capital participation in this sector remained limited in India prior to 2021.
Introduced in 2022, the Government of India’s DLI Scheme helps mitigate these challenges by reducing upfront risks through financial incentives, access to advanced EDA tools, IP cores, and improved ecosystem awareness around semiconductor design. Startups are selected through a rigorous screening and evaluation process led by a committee of technical and industry experts, ensuring that only credible deep-tech companies are onboarded. This structured support has strengthened investor confidence and enhanced commercial viability, leading to increased investor engagement with DLI-backed semiconductor startups.
Incorporated in Bengaluru on 5 June 2024 by a founding team with decades of experience at global leaders such as Texas Instruments, National Semiconductor and Maxim Integrated. C2i Semiconductors was subsequently approved w.e.f. 1 November 2024 for financial support and access to advanced chip design tools under the DLI Scheme.
With semicon industry veteran Ganapathy Subramanyam, Founding Managing Partner, Yali Capital on its Board, C2i is developing power-management semiconductor solutions for next-generation AI data centres and cloud infrastructure.
With its engineering team quickly ramped up to 65 engineers, C2i has become one of the top three users amongst 100 companies of the centralized EDA tools in recent months, provided through the centralized EDA tool grid at the ChipIN Centre under the DLI Scheme.
As AI workloads grow modern data centres require very large and highly stable power supply. Older power systems were not designed for continuous high-density computing which leads to energy loss excess heat reliability challenges and difficulty in scaling infrastructure.
C2i Semiconductors is redesigning how electricity flows inside a server from the incoming power source to the processor chip using a grid to core approach. Instead of improving individual components the company is developing a smart configurable power platform that automatically manages and optimizes power delivery in real time. The technology provides stable power even for heavy AI workloads, improves energy efficiency, reduces heat and failures, extends equipment life, simplifies server design, enables faster deployment and supports large scale data centre expansion.
C2i technology works as an intelligent power control system for data centres, helping high-performance AI systems operate reliably, efficiently and continuously for next-generation digital infrastructure. C2i expects its first silicon designs to return from fabrication by mid-year, after which it plans to validate performance.
Recognising the potential of C2i’s breakthrough solution, Peak XV Partners (formerly Sequoia Capital India & SEA) has led a $15 million investment round to accelerate the development of next-generation, high-density and ultra-reliable system-level power delivery solutions. This follows a 4-million-dollar funding round led by Yali Capital in 2024, taking the cumulative investment raised to approximately 170 crores to date, in addition to the support received under the DLI Scheme.