Chip Design Start-Up Mindgrove Secures $8M to Launch First Chip by Mid-2025.

Chennai-based fabless semiconductor design start-up Mindgrove Technologies has secured $8 million in a Series A funding round, significantly boosting its valuation—reported to be nearly four times higher than its seed round in early 2023.

The funding round was co-led by U.S.-based Rocketship.vc and Speciale Invest, with additional backing from Mela Ventures, Peak XV Partners, Nishchay Goel, Whiteboard Capital, and newcomer Anshul Goel.

Mindgrove specializes in designing high-performance, cost-efficient SoCs (system-on-chips) for both Indian and global markets. The newly raised funds will be used to commercially launch its first microcontroller SoC, Secure IoT, by mid-2025. The funding will also support team expansion and upgrades to its in-house engineering capabilities.

Earlier this year, Mindgrove introduced the prototype of Secure IoT, a 28 nm chip designed for smart connected devices such as watches, meters, access control units, printers, and point-of-sale machines.

Speaking to BusinessLine, CEO Shashwath T R highlighted the challenges of scaling production due to the chicken-and-egg nature of securing orders. "Capital is the key to overcoming this hurdle. By funding our first commercial production batch, we can better engage with customers," he explained.

Mindgrove has also received approval under India’s semiconductor Design Linked Incentive (DLI) scheme, securing ₹15 crore to develop its next product, the Vision SoC, targeted at edge computing and vision processing applications like CCTV cameras, dashcams, and video recorders.

The company plans to grow its current 40-member team to 100 employees within two years, adding sales and marketing professionals for Secure IoT and technical experts for Vision SoC and other upcoming projects.

“Mindgrove Technologies represents the future of India’s technology sector with its innovative solutions tailored for the needs of a rising India,” said Sailesh Ramakrishnan, Managing Partner at Rocketship.vc.

Vishesh Rajaram, Managing Partner at Speciale Invest, praised Mindgrove’s Secure IoT as a benchmark for “innovation and cost-efficiency” in addressing global and domestic demand for high-performance microcontrollers.

Incubated by IIT-Madras Pravartak Technologies Foundation and IIT-M Incubation Cell, Mindgrove is poised to become a leader in India’s growing semiconductor industry.

HBL