Moving from defence pilots to telecom ambitions, AGNIT Semiconductors secures funding for GaN production, marking Shastra VC’s first semiconductor investment in India.
Bengaluru-based startup AGNIT Semiconductors has raised $2.6 million in a Seed Extension equity round led by Shastra VC, marking the fund’s first investment in India’s semiconductor sector. Existing investors 3one4 Capital and Zephyr Peacock also participated.
AGNIT, incubated at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), plans to use the fresh capital to scale production of Gallium Nitride (GaN) components to 100,000 units over the next two years. It will also expand into telecom infrastructure and high-efficiency power electronics.
Founded in 2019, AGNIT has raised $7.47 million to date and is now transitioning from pilot deployments to commercial manufacturing.
“This round comes at an important point in our journey as we move from technology validation to building scale,” observed AGNIT’s Chief Executive Hareesh Chandrasekar, saying that the funding comes at a pivotal stage.
“What excites me most is seeing the science move into real systems, with three distinct radio-frequency products already in pilots across Indian strategic defence platforms,” he added.
The global GaN market is estimated at nearly $9 billion, with India-specific opportunities in radio-frequency and power electronics worth about $950 million. AGNIT expects to begin commercial shipments of its first strategic products in July 2027.
Ashis Nayak, Founding Partner at Shastra VC, acknowledged AGNIT, saying, “ it is one of India’s most compelling IP-led semiconductor stories, with a strong patent portfolio and a vertically integrated approach from wafer manufacturing to chip fabrication.”
AGNIT is among the first startups incubated by the Gallium Nitride Ecosystem Enabling Centre at IISc, supported by the Ministry of Electronics and IT. It has also signed an MoU under the Ministry of Defence’s iDEX programme and received recognition through awards, including the IESA Technovation Startup Award and NASSCOM’s Deep Tech Emerge 50.
