Meet Bharat Semi, startup behind Indo-US semiconductor fab partnership

Meet Vrinda Kapoor, Vinayak Dalmia, and Mukul Sarkar, the founders of Bharat Semi, who dreamt of creating world-class products in India that would rival global standards. Their journey began at IIT Delhi's image sensor lab, where they first met and conceived 3rdiTech in 2019.

3rdiTech had its breakthrough moment when it was awarded the Army Design Bureau's Award of Excellence for its low-light imaging sensors. After this success, the company went on to get work from the US defence and the UK defence departments, and the team started to focus on building India’s first homegrown integrated device manufacturer.

In 2023, the founders also launched Bharat Semi. “Bharat Semi and 3rdiTech are the two sides of a coin. We are focused on compound semiconductors, which are also getting critical technology but they are not of the same size and scale as those of silicon semiconductors,” said Kapoor to Business Standard on a call.

India and the US on Sunday announced plans to set up a new semiconductor fabrication plant named “Shakti”, which will be among the first multi-material fabs globally, dedicated to enhancing national security. The project will be enabled by support from the India Semiconductor Mission and will be part of a strategic technology partnership among Bharat Semi, 3rdiTech, and the US Space Force.

Kapoor, co-founder and CEO, described the collaboration as a "watershed moment" for both India and the US, marking the first-ever technology transfer of such closely guarded technologies to an Indian entity.

"It places India within an elite group of nations capable of manufacturing and designing these semiconductor chips”

added Kapoor. 

However, the collaboration still has a few things to clarify such as where will the project come up, what will be the financial investments, and what capacity of production is expected.

She emphasised that the plant would begin with a capacity of 50,000 units per year in its first phase alone. "India currently imports around $1 billion worth of these semiconductors for national security purposes, so this facility will not only reduce dependency on foreign imports but also become a national asset for both India and the Indo-Pacific region," she added.

The company has a few strategic investors on board, whose names the founders did not want to disclose.

Kapoor highlighted "Semiconductors is about building a sophisticated supply chain, from raw materials to design to manufacturing."

Beyond the defence sector, Kapoor outlined the broader applications of 3rdiTech’s technology, which are expected to serve sectors such as telecommunications and green energy. "We’ll be catering to our strategic requirements, to our requirements for next-generation telecom infrastructure, as well as the green energy sector. The chips we’re developing will also play a crucial role in reducing power consumption in data centres, which is a significant climate and economic issue," she said.

Further diving into the details of the agreement, Kapoor explained that the US Space Force along with Bharat Semi will provide 3rdiTech with advanced technical support and training to help scale up the operations of the fabrication plant.

"Prime Minister Modi deserves credit for the troika of three policy master strokes - iDEX for Atmnanirbhar in Defence, iCET for bringing new energy in critical technology cooperation with the U.S., and the semiconductor policy to transform India into a chip maker” she added.