Chennai/Bengaluru, March 18 AGNIT Semiconductors, a company incubated by IISC, has secured a $2.6 million seed extension, the company said.
AGNIT Semiconductors is "India's first vertically integrated gallium nitride (GaN) startup" incubated at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc).
The company said it has secured the $2.6 million seed extension to scale a technology (GaN) that is increasingly viewed as the successor to silicon in high power and high frequency applications.
The recent funding round led by Shastra VC, with participation from J14 Capital and Zephyr Peacock, underscores a growing maturity in the Indian venture capital ecosystem, said company Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Hareesh Chandrasekar.
According to the company, GaN is a critical enabler. For example, electric vehicles (EVs) can replace fossil fuels only if they overcome "range anxiety" and slow charging times.
"This is where GaN comes in," Chandrasekar said.
Highlighting the tangible impact on everyday technology, Chandrasekar noted that while a standard GaN-based fast charger is about 96 to 97 per cent efficient, earlier silicon-based versions hovered around 91 to 93 per cent.
"That 4-5 per cent increase in efficiency at a large scale leads to enormous savings in terms of electricity and energy, without even mentioning the CO2 emissions that are saved. This will have a significant impact across various sectors," he told