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AGNIT Semiconductors, a Bengaluru-based Gallium Nitride (GaN) startup, has raised $3.5 million in a seed round led by 3one4 Capitaland Zephyr Peacock, marking their first investment in India’s semiconductor sector. The round also saw participation from Lakshmi Narayanan, former CEO of Cognizantand prominent angel investor. 

With a total funding of $4.87 million to date, the company plans to use the fresh capital to scale production and commercial operations. 

AGNIT is also expanding into new segments, including consumer electronics and electric two-wheelers, to meet fast-changing market demands. The company also aims to sell 100,000 semiconductor chips within the next 12 months. 

“Agnit Semiconductors is breaking new ground by advancing Gallium Nitride technology in India, a critical component for the future of global electronics and energy systems. Agnit represents the new wave of Indian deep tech startups – born from rigorous research, focused on critical technologies, and positioned for global impact. We are excited to partner with Agnit as they scale their operations and take Indian semiconductor technology to the global market,” said Pranav Pai, Founding Partner and CIO, 3one4 Capital. 

AGNIT is one of the first startups incubated by the Gallium Nitride Ecosystem Enabling Centre and Incubator, managed by the Foundation for Science Innovation and Development (FSID) at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) and funded by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeITY). 

“As we close our seed round with 3one4 Capital and Zephyr Peacock, it marks an extraordinary five-year journey where we’ve pioneered Gallium Nitride (GaN) technology to revolutionize specialized applications, augmenting traditional silicon. GaN holds immense potential across sectors like 5G, fast charging, PV inverters, and beyond—its full impact is yet to be realized. Achieving this requires unwavering support, and we’ve been fortunate to have the backing of IISc and MeitY,” said Hareesh Chandrasekar, CEO and Co-founder of AGNIT Semiconductor.

The startup has also received recognition from the Government of Karnataka for its cutting-edge GaN semiconductor technology. In support of the ‘Make in India’ initiative, AGNIT recently signed an MoU with the Ministry of Defence under the iDEX program to design and develop wireless transmitters for defense applications using the GaN technology.

“The demand for GaN semiconductors is growing worldwide as they enable improved performance and energy efficiency, supporting the development of smaller and more cost-effective devices. We believe that the company will become a key stakeholder in the semiconductor supply chain in India and globally, and we are excited to partner with them in their journey,” said Pankaj Raina, Managing Director, Zephyr Peacock,” said Pankaj Raina, Managing Director, Zephyr Peacock.