The Indian Institute of Technology Hyderabad (IITH) has launched an exclusive Incubator to boost the chip design sector.

The Fabless Chip Design Incubator (FabCI) a first of its kind in India will focus on creating an ecosystem for grooming startups in chip design.

It will provide a bouquet of offerings including free software tools with leading technology partners in Electronic Design Automation (EDA), a characterization facility for testing the chips and equipment for performing DC and RF characterization.

Already three start ups are registered to kick start activity. A technical event was held at IIT Hyderabad campus recently.

Ajay Prakash Sawhney, Secretary, Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), said, “ The Incubator will greatly benefit from the expertise of IIT Hyderabad and mentors outside the Institute and should make a mark in the International Chip Design Sector".

The goal is to incubate at least 50 ‘Make-in-India’ chip design companies that can compete globally and generate Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs).

U B Desai, Director, IIT Hyderabad, said, “ We're looking forward to incubating startups that will roll out the next generation of disruptive products. This incubator will also contribute to the ‘Startup India’ and ‘Make In India’ campaigns of the Government of India.”

FabCI is funded by MeitY, technology partners Cadence Design Systems, Inc. and Mentor Graphics both are leading providers of Electronic Design Automation (EDA) software, hardware and IP.

The three startups are at different stages of evolution. They are Lemonflip (chip design IP for energy harvesting and high performance radio frequency modules to make battery less next generation smart electronics system.

SenseHealth Technologies is into providing healthcare at an affordable cost without compromising quality. WiSig Networks develops products that serve both Indian and international markets, including terrestrial cellular, non-terrestrial and defence applications.

The Incubator also offers virtual support to non-Hyderabad based startups who can join FabCI and successfully leverage the offerings and participate remotely.

The demand in the Indian market driven by higher consumption of electronic goods and our strategic needs for using technology in education, defense and healthcare industries is projected to reach $400 billion by the year 2020.

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