New Delhi, Oct 6 (IANS) In a move aimed at advancing India's semiconductor ambitions, the Technology Development Board (TDB) under the Department of Science and Technology (DST) has signed an agreement with Bengaluru-based BigEndian Semiconductors to provide financial support of Rs 130 crore under the Research Development and Innovation (RDI) Fund.

The funding will support Project VeerAI, an indigenous semiconductor initiative with a total project cost of Rs 260 crore. The project aims to develop a camera-focused Artificial Intelligence (AI) Vision System-on-Chip (SoC) and take the technology from Technology Readiness Level (TRL)-5 to TRL-9, paving the way for commercial deployment. The assistance from TDB will be extended through Optional Convertible Debt (OCD).

Project VeerAI is focused on building a secure AI chip platform primarily for surveillance applications, particularly CCTV systems. The initiative seeks to reduce India's dependence on foreign semiconductor technologies and supply chains by creating a sovereign technology platform capable of delivering intelligent, secure and application-specific semiconductor solutions.

The proposed AI Vision SoC is designed to integrate AI processing capabilities with advanced security, privacy and connectivity features.

While the technology is initially targeted at surveillance applications in India and countries across the Global South, the company plans to expand its use cases into sectors such as defence, automotive, industrial automation and healthcare.

The project is also expected to leverage India's growing pool of VLSI design and semiconductor engineering talent. By focusing on application-specific semiconductor solutions rather than general-purpose chips, BigEndian aims to address sector-specific requirements while enabling faster commercialisation and product deployment.

Through the RDI Fund support, BigEndian Semiconductors will undertake technology development, validation, integration, testing and scale-up activities required to advance Project VeerAI from advanced development stages to commercial readiness.

Rajesh Kumar Pathak, Secretary, Technology Development Board, said semiconductors are at the core of nearly every emerging technology and building domestic capabilities in application-specific AI chips is crucial for strengthening India's technology ecosystem.

Commenting on the partnership, the promoters of BigEndian Semiconductors said the funding will help accelerate the development and validation of Project VeerAI and push the AI Vision SoC towards commercial readiness.

--IANS

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