AGNIT embeds India into the global semiconductor value chain
As India’s semiconductor landscape hits a defining moment, the urgency to develop indigenous IP and future-proof capabilities has never been greater, says Hareesh Chandrasekar, CEO and Co-founder of AGNIT Semiconductors Pte Ltd.
The Gallium Nitride (GaN) technology is not just an enabler it’s a catalyst for transformation in high-performance electronics, he said after winning the Deep Tech Emerge 50 Award 2025 from NASSCOM
“This award is a powerful affirmation of AGNIT’s mission to place India at the forefront of global GaN semiconductor innovation,” he underlined.
“At AGNIT, we are building the core of that shift. With our RF GaN devices now entering customer-level system testing and strong support from IISc (Indian Institute of Science) and MeitY (Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology), we are doubling down on our vision to embed India deeper into the global semiconductor value chain.”
The NASSCOM Future Forge 2025, hosted/organised in Bengaluru on 7 Aug, spotlighted India’s most disruptive deep tech startups. Bringing together industry leaders, entrepreneurs, policymakers, and investors, the event celebrated the country’s shift from technology consumer to global innovator. This year’s edition highlighted how deep tech ventures are solving complex challenges and socio-economic issues, driving impact at scale and shaping the next wave of India’s innovation-led growth.
In line with the ‘Make in India’ initiative, AGNIT in December 2023 also signed an MoU under the iDEX program with the Ministry of Defence to develop next-generation wireless transmitters using GaN technology for defense applications. To date, the five-year-old Bengaluru-based startup has raised US$4.87 million from 3one4 Capital, Zephyr Peacock, and Lakshmi Narayanan, the former CEO of Cognizant.
Chandrasekar, Co-founder & CEO of AGNIT, received the honour from Dr. Tapan Sahoo, Executive Officer Digital Enterprise, Information & Cybersecurity, Maruti Suzuki Limited (see picture above).
The recognition marks a significant milestone in AGNIT’s mission to build a fully vertically integrated GaN semiconductor ecosystem making it one of the few companies globally to manage the entire value chain in-house.
Incubated by the Foundation for Science Innovation and Development (FSID) at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc). AGNIT has been recognized for its pioneering work in indigenous GaN technology and has received several accolades, including the ELEVATE startup grant from the Government of Karnataka in 2021 and the Semiconductor Startup Award 2025 from the India Electronics and Semiconductor Association (IESA). fiinews.com
