India's push for a self-reliant semiconductor ecosystem got a fresh boost on Monday, with the Technology Development Board (TDB) signing a Rs 130 crore agreement with Bengaluru-based BigEndian Semiconductors to develop an indigenous AI Vision System-on-Chip (SoC).
What Project VeerAI aims to build
The funding, announced on October 5 by the Ministry of Science and Technology, comes under the government's Research Development and Innovation (RDI) Fund and will be provided as Optional Convertible Debt. Project VeerAI has a total project cost of Rs 260 crore and aims to take the camera-focused AI Vision SoC from Technology Readiness Level 5 — laboratory validation — all the way to TRL-9, full commercial readiness.
The chip is being designed on a sovereign technology platform to deliver secure, intelligent and application-specific AI vision capabilities. Its primary use case is secure AI chips for surveillance, especially CCTV systems, with planned applications across defence, automotive, industrial and medical sectors.
Strategic significance
The project seeks to reduce India's dependence on externally developed semiconductor supply chains while converting the country's deep VLSI design talent into deployable products. Secure AI vision chips are seen as critical infrastructure for national-security applications, where foreign-built hardware raises trust concerns.
TDB Secretary Rajesh Kumar Pathak said the support reflects the board's focus on enabling Indian companies to develop strategic semiconductor capabilities, adding that it would help convert domestic design expertise into deployable products. Promoters of BigEndian Semiconductors said the RDI support would help accelerate development and validation of the AI Vision SoC toward commercial readiness.
Part of a wider chip push
The deal fits into India's broader semiconductor strategy, which has been combining design incentives, fabrication investments and targeted funding for deep-tech startups. For a young chip firm, moving an SoC from TRL-5 to TRL-9 is the hardest stretch — involving silicon tape-outs, extensive validation and customer qualification — and the Rs 130 crore support de-risks exactly that journey.
Sources:
PSU Connect: TDB Signs Rs 130 Cr Deal With BigEndian for Indigenous AI Vision SoC
APAC News Network: Rs 130 Cr Push for Project VeerAI
What Project VeerAI aims to build
The funding, announced on October 5 by the Ministry of Science and Technology, comes under the government's Research Development and Innovation (RDI) Fund and will be provided as Optional Convertible Debt. Project VeerAI has a total project cost of Rs 260 crore and aims to take the camera-focused AI Vision SoC from Technology Readiness Level 5 — laboratory validation — all the way to TRL-9, full commercial readiness.
The chip is being designed on a sovereign technology platform to deliver secure, intelligent and application-specific AI vision capabilities. Its primary use case is secure AI chips for surveillance, especially CCTV systems, with planned applications across defence, automotive, industrial and medical sectors.
Strategic significance
The project seeks to reduce India's dependence on externally developed semiconductor supply chains while converting the country's deep VLSI design talent into deployable products. Secure AI vision chips are seen as critical infrastructure for national-security applications, where foreign-built hardware raises trust concerns.
TDB Secretary Rajesh Kumar Pathak said the support reflects the board's focus on enabling Indian companies to develop strategic semiconductor capabilities, adding that it would help convert domestic design expertise into deployable products. Promoters of BigEndian Semiconductors said the RDI support would help accelerate development and validation of the AI Vision SoC toward commercial readiness.
Part of a wider chip push
The deal fits into India's broader semiconductor strategy, which has been combining design incentives, fabrication investments and targeted funding for deep-tech startups. For a young chip firm, moving an SoC from TRL-5 to TRL-9 is the hardest stretch — involving silicon tape-outs, extensive validation and customer qualification — and the Rs 130 crore support de-risks exactly that journey.
Sources:
PSU Connect: TDB Signs Rs 130 Cr Deal With BigEndian for Indigenous AI Vision SoC
APAC News Network: Rs 130 Cr Push for Project VeerAI
