Pune: Mindgrove Technologies, a fabless semiconductor design startup, has received approval from the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) under the Semiconductor Design Linked Incentive (DLI) scheme for its upcoming chip, “Vision SoC,” focused on vision processing and high-performance edge computing.

The Vision SoC (System-on-Chip) is designed to enhance video processing capabilities, making it ideal for devices and applications that require video data recognition and processing.

Targeted towards manufacturers of CCTV cameras, dashcams, video recorders, automotive Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS), smart TVs, and similar devices, the Vision SoC promises to bring advanced capabilities to the video processing market.

Sunita Verma, Group Coordinator for R&D in Electronics and IT at MeitY, highlighted the strategic importance of this development, stating, "Mindgrove Technologies' Vision SoC leverages years of design experience rooted in the SHAKTI Processor, developed by IIT Madras with support from the Ministry of Electronics and IT.

This integration of expertise from Mindgrove founders will be crucial for security and surveillance applications, holding both commercial and strategic significance. The successful silicon bring-up of the 700 MHz SoC marks a pivotal step in unlocking future opportunities."

Earlier this year, Mindgrove achieved a major milestone with the commercial launch of “Secure IoT,” India's first indigenously designed high-performance 700 MHz microcontroller unit (MCU). This chip, built for IoT devices, offers 70% of the features of high-end alternatives at 30% lower cost.

Its applications span wearables like smartwatches and headphones, connected home devices, smart city systems such as electricity and water meters, and access control devices, including biometric systems.

Shashwath TR, CEO of Mindgrove Technologies, expressed excitement over the DLI approval, stating, "Our mission at Mindgrove has always been to deliver innovative solutions to the global market while supporting India's growing demand for a robust local supply chain. The DLI support from MeitY reflects the government's trust in our vision as we work together to place India on the global semiconductor stage."

Vivek Khaneja, Executive Director of C-DAC Noida said, “The DLI scheme, coordinated by C-DAC, is a crucial initiative to foster innovation in design startups. Mindgrove Technologies, which originated from IIT Madras, is a prime example of the scheme's success. With support from the Indian government and investment from Peak XV Ventures, Mindgrove has overcome early challenges and is now positioned to deliver flexible, adaptable, and cost-effective SoCs for applications in Edge Computing, IoT, and Computer Vision.”