New Delhi, October 5 (APAC Media): India is stepping up efforts to strengthen its semiconductor capabilities with a major push towards indigenous AI chip technology. The Technology Development Board (TDB), under the Department of Science & Technology (DST), has signed an agreement with Bengaluru-based BigEndian Semiconductors for Rs. 130 crore in financial support. The project aims to take its indigenous AI Vision System-on-Chip from Technology Readiness Level (TRL)-5 to TRL-9.
What is Project VeerAI?
Project VeerAI is an indigenous semiconductor initiative focused on developing a camera-centric AI Vision System-on-Chip (SoC) on a sovereign technology platform. The project has a total cost of Rs. 260 crore and is designed to create a secure, intelligent, and application-specific chip for surveillance and other technology-intensive sectors.
The project is being developed initially for CCTV and surveillance applications in India and the Global South. It is also expected to create a technology platform that can eventually serve sectors such as defence, automotive, industrial, and medical applications.
Why is India investing in an indigenous AI chip?
The growing use of connected cameras and intelligent devices has increased the need for secure and reliable semiconductor technologies. Dependence on externally developed chips and technology supply chains can create challenges around data security, privacy, connectivity, and technology sovereignty.
Project VeerAI aims to address these concerns by developing AI processing and smart capabilities within an indigenous chip platform, potentially giving users greater control over critical technology and data.
Where can the technology be used beyond CCTV?
Although surveillance is the initial focus, Project VeerAI has a broader roadmap. Its application-specific SoC could eventually be adapted for defence systems, automobiles, industrial equipment, and medical technologies.
This wider applicability could help create a scalable market for India’s indigenous AI-enabled semiconductor solutions.
What could this mean for India’s technology ambitions?
As AI and connected devices become increasingly important to critical infrastructure, secure and application-specific chips are becoming strategically significant. Project VeerAI represents an effort to combine indigenous semiconductor design, AI capabilities, and technology security.
If successfully scaled from TRL-5 to TRL-9, the project could mark another step towards building a more self-reliant semiconductor ecosystem and reducing dependence on external technology supply chains.
Also Read
GalaxEye Gets ₹63.84 Crore TDB Support to Develop Advanced Earth-Observation Satellite
