SmartSoC Solutions, a leading semiconductor and embedded engineering services firm with headquarters in Bengaluru, has entered into a strategic alliance with the ChipIN Centre located within the Centre of Development of Advanced Computing (CDAC). This partnership is exclusively aimed at assisting the Design Linked Incentive (DLI) Programme in India by offering essential resources to DLI-registered startups and MSMEs. The objective of the partnership is to support the multifaceted process of chip design to commercialisation and support the process of time-to-market reduction and competitiveness improvement of Indian innovators on the global market. 

Strategic effort and rigorous testing

The project is a strategic initiative to close major divides within the local semiconductor ecosystem, especially regarding access to fabrication and backend validation. According to the agreement, SmartSoC will make its high-end Post-Silicon Validation (PSV) services available to registered DLI parties at no cost. These are important services; these are strict tests on silicon prototypes against the functional, performance, and electrical standards to make sure that the chips conform to the international standards before they are subjected to mass manufacturing.

This free access can be an important aspect in the equalisation of the playing field because such services are often prohibitively expensive to smaller players. SmartSoC will provide a variety of foundry services in the startup ecosystem. As one of the earliest Indian firms to collaborate with various foundries, this customisation is meant to enable startups to choose an optimal manufacturing route to their exclusive design requirements. 

Critical challenges and new initiatives

The ecosystem of Indian semiconductor startups is also characterised by ongoing pressures, such as the inability to access a wide range of foundry options and the prohibitive price of the global back-end validation and characterisation equipment. These hurdles are also directly aimed at being solved by the joint venture between SmartSoC and CDAC. 

The initiative reduces the cost and risk of early-stage companies by making expert laboratories, test resources, and engineering assistance free of charge. This assistance will make sure that the startups are comfortable taking their designs to functional products, hence increasing their credibility and road to success in the international market.

This initiative is an addition to the current and continuous input of SmartSoC as an engineering partner in the DLI Scheme. The company already offers a range of end-to-end semiconductor solutions, which consist of SoC design and verification, physical design, embedded software development, and product engineering support.

Such holistic investments are critical to the development of the semiconductor research and development environment in India, indigenous innovation, and the commercialisation of Indian technologies faster. The partnership is directly connected to the overall vision of the Government of India regarding Semicon India and the wider Atmanirbhar Bharat (Self-Reliant India) mission, where these industry-government alliances are increasingly vital in supporting a highly effective national innovation ecosystem. 

Conclusion

The partnership between the CDAC ChipIN Centre and SmartSoC Solutions can be witnessed as a significant move towards supporting the future of India’s domestic semiconductor companies. The partnership directly responds to high costs and infrastructure barriers that have traditionally plagued Indian semiconductor startups by providing pro-bono Post-Silicon Validation services and essential access to various foundries under the DLI Scheme. This government-industry partnership will go a long way in fast-tracking the process of indigenous chip designing towards commercialisation, moving India one step closer to its aim of being self-sufficient and exporting semiconductor technology worldwide.