iVP Semiconductor Pvt Ltd is making waves in the Indian semiconductor industry as the country’s first fabless chip company. Founded by P Raja Manickam, a semiconductor veteran with experience at Texas Instruments, iVP Semiconductor is aiming to achieve revenue of $70-100 million in the next 3-4 years. The company follows a unique model of designing semiconductor chips as products and owning the intellectual property, while outsourcing the manufacturing, assembly, testing, and packaging of the chips.
iVP Semiconductor is positioning itself as a direct competitor to foreign chip companies, with a focus on technological autonomy and creating chips designed exclusively for the Indian market. The start-up has already secured $5 million in pre-series A funding and is targeting opportunities in the power sector, including making semiconductor chips for solar inverters, smart grids, and 2-wheeler batteries.
In a semiconductor industry where India lacks a fab but excels in design capabilities, iVP Semiconductor is adopting an ‘asset-lite’ model. The company will focus on design and testing, outsourcing all other aspects of the value chain. This approach allows iVP Semiconductor to leverage partnerships with the Tamil Nadu government to establish common test facilities for efficient testing processes.
G S Madhusudan, a semiconductor industry expert, highlighted the increasing demand for semiconductors due to rising electronics consumption. He emphasized that developing indigenous chip products could enable India to capture a significant portion of the market for chips priced under $5. With emerging areas such as energy meters, smart cards, electric vehicles, and point-of-sales devices driving chip demand, iVP Semiconductor’s focus on innovation and market alignment positions it for success in the evolving semiconductor landscape.
