SFAL-backed startups breaking barriers, creating cutting-edge products, says IT/BT Minister Priyank Kharge

Karnataka IT/BT Minister Priyank Kharge on Wednesday said three Bengaluru-based startups have developed innovative technologies with the support of the Semiconductor Fabless Accelerator Lab (SFAL), a State-funded centre of excellence (CoE) for fabless semiconductors.

Calligo Technologies has fabricated a POSIT-enabled semiconductor chip which will enhance performance and accuracy in critical mathematical computations. POSIT technology was set to become a new standard in computing as it offers improved accuracy, network bandwidth, and storage utilization with reduced power consumption. The technology is particularly advantageous for applications in stock exchange computations, medical drug research, and artificial intelligence, the minister said at a media conference.

The company plans to showcase an accelerator card based on this chip at the supercomputing conference (SC’24) in the US later this year.


Morphing Machines, another SFAL-supported fabless semiconductor company, has developed Redefine, which would cater to emerging workloads in areas such as telecom, AI/ML, healthcare, and high-performance computing. The startup has secured $2.76 million (Rs 23 crore) in a seed funding round led by Speciale Invest, the minister said. Morphing Machines flagship product, Redefine, is the first reconfigurable processor in India and globally.

AB Circuits and Research Labs (ABCRL), another SAFL startup, has developed its product TireSynapse, which Kharge said, was the industry's first tire monitoring ASIC with integrated Bluetooth. The tiny chip offers advanced features such as tire wear prediction, road condition detection, load detection, wheel alignment measurement etc., setting new standards in vehicle safety and efficiency.

ABCRL was on the cusp of a major milestone with plans to tape out their first chip soon. The achievement would mark a significant step forward in its goal to become the leading provider of smart automotive electronics globally, the minister added.

SFAL’s focus had been around enabling fabless semiconductor startups and encouraging development of Products/IPs from India. “Gujarat and Tamil Nadu are keen to replicate our SAFL model,” Kharge said, adding Karnataka was the first to experiment with it. One of the reasons for Karnataka being ahead in fabless semiconductor innovations was because it was home to 70% of India’s design talent. The CoE has incubated 43 startups in very niche areas with high end technology, supporting 200 plus innovations, and adding about 800 high-skill jobs.

The SAFL-supported firms raised Rs 114 crore which today command a valuation of Rs 500 crore, the minister said.

In about a year’s time, India’s electronics market would be worth $ 400 billion with semiconductor itself accounting for $ 64 billion, Kharge said, quoting industry estimates.

"Many SFAL supported companies are developing products for global and local markets and are also getting funded by VCs, " Jitendra Chaddah India head of GlobalFoundries, said in a media statement.