Mindgrove Technologies, a fabless semiconductor startup supported by Peak XV Partners, has recently unveiled the first commercial high-performance system on a chip (SoC) in India, known as Secure Internet of Things (Secure IoT) 4. This innovative RISC-V-based chip enables Indian original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) to integrate Indian SoCs into their products, reducing the costs of feature-rich devices by approximately 30% compared to other chips in the same category.
The Secure IoT chip is a high-performance microcontroller operating at 700 MHz and stands as the only Indian chip available in this market segment. Engineered to provide programmability, flexibility, security, and superior processing power for a wide range of connected smart devices, it can regulate various devices from wearables like smartwatches to smart city devices including connected electricity, water, and gas meters, as well as smart home devices such as smart locks, fans, speakers, and electric vehicle battery management systems.
Shashwath TR, the CEO and co-founder of Mindgrove Technologies, highlighted that the pandemic underscored a significant gap between high-end and low-end embedded players, with the latter prioritizing cost and size over chip performance. This realization led Mindgrove to develop chips targeting the mid-market, with the concept of "right-sizing" emerging as a unique advantage, offering increased flexibility, adaptability, security, and cost-effectiveness along with robust support.
Not only does Mindgrove market the chip, but it also provides design support to Indian brands to foster innovation and bolster manufacturing scale in India, contributing to the country's self-sufficiency and global standing in the semiconductor and electronics industry. Shashwath noted the substantial market potential, citing India's annual consumption of over a billion chips, with the potential for 10 to 50 million of these to be replaced by Secure IoT. Moreover, there is significant global demand for microchips, and international buyers are expected to show keen interest in this new offering from India.
The IITM Pravartak Technologies Foundation and the IIT Madras Incubation Cell, which incubated Mindgrove, confirmed that the chip successfully passed MPW testing at the 28nm node, with prototype wafers set to be available for OEMs to evaluate in the coming weeks. Secure IoT comes with a host of features, including multiple I/Os, key security algorithms as hardware accelerators, secure boot capabilities, and one-time programmable on-chip memory. It is designed for use with bare metal code or any real-time operating system (RTOS) microcontroller, enabling applications in areas such as traffic control systems, autonomous vehicles, and medical equipment.
Headquartered at the IIT Madras Research Park in Chennai, Mindgrove Technologies specializes in designing advanced, scalable, and reliable System-on-Chips (SoCs) under the Mindgrove Silicon brand. These SoCs are engineered to be energy-efficient and cost-effective for applications in IoT, computer vision, automotive, and more. Founded by Shashwath TR and Sharan Srinivas J, and backed by Peak XV Partners, Speciale Invest, and Whiteboard Capital, the startup is incubated by the IITM Pravartak Technologies Foundation and IIT Madras Incubation Cell.
