CDAC partners with Arm to aid semiconductor startups under DLI scheme

With this announcement, a total of seven startups under the DLI Scheme will be working on making chip and IP cores for the automotive, mobility, and computing sectors. Representative image

The Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (CDAC) on July 29 announced that it has partnered with UK-based semiconductor IP company Arm to broaden semiconductor support under the Design Linked Incentive Scheme (DLI) and further enable the growth of the sector in India.

As part of the collaboration, the Arm Flexible Access for Startups programme, which gives $0 license fee access to a broad portfolio of verified Arm IP, tools and training, will broaden its qualification criteria to welcome applications from startups that qualify under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology’s (MeitY) SemiconIndia futureDESIGN DLI scheme.

According to a release from MeitY, Arm Flexible Access for Startups provides “low-risk, easy access to industry-proven technology, technical support, an extensive ecosystem, and Arm’s broad developer base for silicon startups to move fast, and experiment with ease and design with confidence”.

Access to these facilities will help startups building products across all markets find success via a “fast, low-risk journey to building a working prototype, securing the next round of funding, and instilling confidence in potential investors”. Technical support and training will also be provided under the partnership to help upskill the teams, the release added.

Also read: 25 startups being evaluated for semiconductors design subsidy scheme: Rajeev Chandrasekhar

Guru Ganesan, President, Arm India, said, “Innovative silicon startups will drive the future of the semiconductor industry as they develop life-changing new technologies in areas from AI to autonomous vehicles and IoT. We are committed to supporting startups, and through the Arm Flexible Access programme, we offer the freedom to experiment, innovate and design, so they can become the technology leaders of tomorrow.”

“India has a large and growing pool of designers in the semiconductor domain and such offerings from semiconductor ecosystem players like Arm will provide a low-cost, low-risk opportunity to create innovative designs by young entrepreneurs for import substitution and value addition in the electronics sector”, said E Magesh, Director General, CDAC.

As part of the partnership, CDAC and Arm would be working towards the following broad objectives:

• Startups selected under DLI will qualify for the Arm Flexible Access for Startups programme.

• Arm will provide the startups with access to processor and system IPs, reference designs, GPU, ISP, and AI accelerator IPs, and software development tools.

• Arm will provide access to thousands of Artisan physical IP products supporting multiple foundries and process nodes for physical design and implementation.

Notably, the government’s DLI scheme aims to offer financial incentives as well as design infrastructure support across various stages of development and deployment of semiconductor design(s) for Integrated Circuits (ICs), Chipsets, System on Chips (SoCs), Systems & IP Cores and semiconductor linked design(s) over a period of five years.

The DLI Scheme is implemented by C-DAC. Under the DLI Scheme, the ChipIN centre has been set up at C-DAC as a one-stop centre to provide chip design and fabrication services to supported companies. Five startups/MSMEs were earlier approved by MeitY for support under the DLI scheme and announced during the second and third DLI roadshows held earlier this year.

With this announcement, a total of seven startups under the DLI Scheme will be working on making chip and IP cores for the automotive, mobility, and computing sectors.