Funding · Government, Defense & Space

BigEndian Semiconductors raises $6 million to commercialise its first India-designed chip

By Startup Enthusiast · 6 May 2026

Date: 6 May 2026
Company: BigEndian Semiconductors
What it does: fabless semiconductor startup
Kind: Funding
Amount: $6M
Stage: pre-series-a
Based in: Bengaluru
Founded: 2024-03
Sector: Government, Defense & Space

What they do

BigEndian Semiconductors is a fabless semiconductor startup building secure, high-performance system-on-chips (SoCs) for applications like surveillance…

What happened

The company raised $6 million in a pre-Series A funding round led by IAN Alpha Fund, with participation from Vertex Ventures SEA and India, IvyCap Ventures,…

Why it matters

The capital will be used to commercialise its first SoC, scale product engineering, and strengthen partnerships with foundries, IP ecosystems, and OEMs

The details

BigEndian Semiconductors, a Bengaluru-based fabless semiconductor startup, raised $6 million in a pre-Series A funding round led by IAN Alpha Fund.
The round also saw participation from existing investors Vertex Ventures SEA and India, IvyCap Ventures, and strategic angel investors.
The company had previously raised $3 million in a seed funding round from Vertex Ventures in August 2024.
The fresh capital will be used to commercialise its first system-on-chip (SoC), scale product engineering efforts, and strengthen partnerships with foundries, IP ecosystems, and OEMs.
BigEndian plans to unveil its sample chipset by the end of May 2026 and expects the SoC to be commercially available in the third or fourth quarter of the ongoing fiscal year.

The bigger picture

The Indian government has mandated that all surveillance equipment must comply with the Standardisation Testing and Quality Certification regime, promoting domestic chip production over foreign alternatives.
This move has increased demand for secure, locally designed chips, especially in sectors where data sovereignty and national security are priorities.
India's semiconductor ecosystem is still developing the infrastructure to support fabless semiconductor companies, which require long-term capital and deep technical expertise.

About the business

BigEndian Semiconductors builds secure, high-performance system-on-chips (SoCs) designed in India for global markets.
The startup focuses on developing silicon platforms for sectors such as surveillance, telecom, IoT, and enterprise systems.
It combines hardware and software capabilities, drawing on expertise in VLSI design, system architecture, and embedded software to build integrated solutions.
BigEndian is working on creating trusted silicon platforms that can serve both national security and commercial applications.
The company is navigating complex processes such as chip design, verification, and tape-out, while also building its own silicon intellectual property.

What happens next

The company plans to unveil its sample chipset by the end of May 2026.
It will seek regulatory approvals for testing the SoC in different conditions.
The SoC is expected to be commercially available in the third or fourth quarter of the ongoing fiscal year.

The deal

Type: funding

Investors

IAN Alpha Fund (lead) — A venture capital firm focused on early-stage technology startups.
Vertex Ventures SEA and India (existing) — An existing investor that had previously invested in BigEndian Semiconductors.
IvyCap Ventures (participated) — A venture capital firm that participated in the funding round.
strategic angel investors (participated) — A group of angel investors with strategic interests in the semiconductor industry.

Founders

Sunil Kumar, Co-Founder and CEO
Renuka Prasad, Co-Founder
Dinesh Annayya, Co-Founder
Kanagaraju Ponnusamy, Co-Founder
Jansen Cheng, Co-Founder
Renuka Prasad, Co-Founder
Dinesh Annayya, Co-Founder
Kanagaraju Ponnusamy, Co-Founder
Jansen Cheng, Co-Founder

About BigEndian Semiconductors

Product: System-on-chip (SoC) designs for surveillance equipment, telecom, IoT, and enterprise systems
Customers: OEMs and ODMs in surveillance, telecom, and IoT sectors globally
How it makes money: Fabless semiconductor design with partnerships across foundries and IP ecosystems
What sets it apart: India-designed chips with hardware-software integration expertise in VLSI, completing tape-out milestone

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