Aheesa Digital Innovations, a Chennai‑based fabless semiconductor startup, has reached a significant milestone with its fibre‑broadband System‑on‑Chip, VIHAAN. The chip, built around the VEGA microprocessor, was taped out on Republic Day and achieved first‑pass silicon success on Independence Day. This success is a key step toward moving the chip into production.
The Ministry of Electronics and IT confirmed that VIHAAN will now proceed to a production tape‑out, which is planned for 2027. The milestone comes as part of India’s push to strengthen its domestic semiconductor industry under the Design Linked Incentive (DLI) Scheme.
Under the DLI Scheme, Indian companies have already completed more than 30 chip design tape‑outs across various foundries and have attracted over USD 100 million in venture‑capital funding. Aheesa itself raised about Rs 40 crore earlier this year from the Tamil Nadu Infrastructure Fund Management Corporation (TNIFMC) through the Tamil Nadu Emerging Sector Seed Fund (TNESSF) and other private investors.
The government highlights that chip design contributes up to 50 % of the overall value addition in the semiconductor value chain and accounts for roughly 15‑35 % of the bill‑of‑materials cost in electronic products.
The DLI Scheme supports startups to design chips for a wide range of applications, from satellite communications and drones to defence systems, automobiles, IoT devices, AI systems, telecom equipment, and smart meters.
To aid this effort, the ministry has made chip‑design tools available to 455 organisations, including 350 academic institutions and 105 startups, through various semiconductor programmes.
The Chips to Startup (C2S) Programme has already helped 71 academic institutions tape‑out 245 chip designs, helping meet future workforce needs.
Other recent successes under the scheme include Vervesemi Microelectronics’ first‑pass silicon success of a brushless DC motor controller and Netrasemi’s successful testing of a 12 nm Vision SoC.
The government’s broader semiconductor initiatives aim to build an ecosystem that covers design, manufacturing, advanced packaging, equipment, materials, research and development, and skilled manpower.
With the launch of Semicon 2.0, approved in July 2026 with an outlay of Rs 1,27,500 crore, the government seeks to elevate India’s semiconductor ecosystem to a globally competitive level.