Yali Capital Invests $4 Mn In Chip Design Startup C2i Semiconductors

Deeptech venture fund Yali Capital has announced a $4 Mn (INR 33.7 Cr) investment in C2i Semiconductors, a stealth-mode fabless chip design company focused on analogue and mixed-signal designs.

“India has 40 years of high-quality chip design experience, and a good mix of Analog, RF, memory, Digital and EDA talent. Fabless chip design is a strong focus area for Yali Capital, and we hope to be part of creating this ecosystem of vibrant, globally competitive chip design companies from India”, said Ganapathy Subramaniam, founding managing partner of Yali Capital.

Lip-Bu Tan, advisor to Yali Capital said, “We believe C2i Semiconductors has all the needed ingredients to be a globally competitive fabless chip design company. I will be working with Yali Capital closely to create few strong fabless companies from India”

Yali Capital is a venture capital firm founded by Cosmic Circuits cofounder Ganapathy Subramaniam and former Blackstone executive Mathew Cyriac. With over 25 years of experience in the semiconductor industry, Subramaniam also serves on Ideaforge and Tonbo Imaging boards. He is also the chairman of Cirel Systems, a provider of analogue and mixed-signal ICs.

The firm invests in chip design, robotics, genomics, smart manufacturing, aerospace and surveillance, and artificial intelligence.

Yali Capital has invested in three deep tech companies, including C2i Semiconductors, and plans one more investment by December 2024.

Yali Capital, a SEBI-approved Category 2 AIF fund, is targeting a close of INR 500 Cr, with an additional INR 310 Cr greenshoe option. The fund will establish a GIFT City vehicle to facilitate smooth participation for foreign investors. With a focus on India, Yali Capital’s investment thesis centres on deep tech, prioritising chip design, and also covering robotics, smart manufacturing, genomics, aerospace, surveillance, and AI.

In July the VC launched an INR 810 Cr (around $97 Mn) early stage fund to back startups operating in the deeptech sector.

The VC firm has also roped in former chief executive of Cadence as an advisor.