DLI-Backed Chip Startup C2i Raises $15 Million from Peak XV; Intelligent Power-Management Chip Targets AI Data Centres
With a rapidly scaled engineering team of 65 professionals, C2i has emerged as one of the top three users among 100 companies accessing centralised EDA tools provided through the ChipIN Centre under the DLI Scheme.
New Delhi: India’s semiconductor design ecosystem is gaining momentum under the government’s Design Linked Incentive (DLI) Scheme, with Bengaluru-based startup C2i Semiconductors raising $15 million in a Series A round led by Peak XV Partners — the largest funding round secured so far by an Indian semiconductor startup.
The investment signals growing investor confidence in deep-tech ventures supported under the DLI Scheme, which was announced in 2022 to reduce upfront risk for chip design startups through financial support, access to advanced EDA tools and IP cores, and structured ecosystem backing.
Strengthening India’s Design-Led Semiconductor Push
C2i Semiconductors, incorporated in Bengaluru in June 2024 by a founding team with experience at Texas Instruments, National Semiconductor and Maxim Integrated, was approved for DLI support from November 1, 2024. The company is developing intelligent power-management semiconductor solutions tailored for next-generation AI data centres and cloud infrastructure.
With a rapidly scaled engineering team of 65 professionals, C2i has emerged as one of the top three users among 100 companies accessing centralised EDA tools provided through the ChipIN Centre under the DLI Scheme.
The company’s board includes semiconductor industry veteran Ganapathy Subramanyam, Founding Managing Partner at Yali Capital.
The Core Challenge: Power Bottlenecks in AI Infrastructure
As AI workloads expand, data centres face escalating power demands. Legacy power architectures, designed for earlier computing needs, struggle with continuous high-density workloads, leading to energy inefficiencies, heat generation, reliability issues and limited scalability.
C2i is addressing this bottleneck by reimagining how electricity flows inside servers — from grid to processor core. Instead of incremental component-level improvements, the startup is building a configurable, system-level power platform that dynamically manages and optimises power delivery in real time.
The solution aims to deliver stable power for heavy AI workloads, reduce energy loss and heat, extend hardware lifespan, simplify server architecture and enable faster data centre deployment at scale.
In practical terms, the company describes its technology as an “intelligent power brain” for AI infrastructure. Its first silicon designs are expected to return from fabrication by mid-year for performance validation.
Investor Backing and Policy Alignment
The $15 million Series A investment follows a $4 million round led by Yali Capital in 2024, taking cumulative funding to approximately ₹170 crore, in addition to support under the DLI Scheme.
Rajan Anandan, Managing Director at Peak XV, said C2i’s approach to power management has the potential to significantly extend GPU lifespan and unlock billions of dollars in savings for the industry.
The funding aligns with the semiconductor vision articulated by Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, who has emphasised that India’s semiconductor programme is designed to strengthen both chip design and manufacturing, with a focus on building domestic intellectual property and globally competitive product companies.
By combining government-backed risk mitigation with private capital, the DLI framework is increasingly enabling Indian chip design startups to move from concept to commercial viability — positioning India as a trusted partner in the global semiconductor value chain.
