Agnit Semiconductors has raised US$2.6 million in a seed extension round led by Shastra VC, with existing investors 3one4 Capital and Zephyr Peacock participating. The Economic Times, Analytics India, The Hindu Business Line, and BIS Infotech report. The company said the funds will be used to scale gallium nitride component production and move pilot products toward commercialisation.
According to the outlets, the Bengaluru-based startup has now raised a total of US$7.47 million. It plans to scale production to about 100,000 gallium nitride components over the next 24 months and expand into telecom infrastructure and power-electronics applications. Analytics India and The Hindu Business Line added that commercial shipments of its first products are expected to begin in July 2027.
Hareesh Chandrasekar, cofounder and chief executive, told The Economic Times that Agnit is running about 3 pilots, with a fourth expected to start by the end of the month. He said the company is seeing early visibility in demand from defence platforms and expects at least two pilots to ramp into volume production in the next six to nine months. The Hindu Business Line similarly reported that two radio-frequency products are targeted to move from pilot to volume production over the next year, with additional pilots for telecom-focused chips and field validation of a GaN power device planned.
The outlets describe Agnit's technology as based on more than 15 years of research at the Indian Institute of Science and note the company was incubated at IISc. Agnit's GaN work originated at an IISc GaN ecosystem centre and that the company has signed an agreement under the Ministry of Defence's iDEX programme to develop GaN-based wireless transmitters.
Shastra VC's investment is noted by as the fund's first in India's semiconductor ecosystem. Ashis Nayak, founding partner at Shastra VC, is quoted in The Economic Times and Analytics India, saying gallium nitride is emerging as critical for next-generation electronics across defence and telecom infrastructure and praising Agnit's patent portfolio. The Economic Times and Analytics India reported that Agnit describes its approach as vertically integrated, spanning wafer manufacturing, device design, and chip fabrication.
The company said the new capital will support the transition from pilot deployments to scaled manufacturing and that it may consider raising additional funds once early deployments convert into commercial orders, a point reported by The Economic Times.
Article edited by Jerry Chen
