MumbaiSemi, a spin-off of IIT Bombay (IIT-B), intends to eliminate the dependency on imported equipment for receiving signals from India's indigenous satellite navigation system, NavIC, by developing a domestic radio frequency (RF) chip.
Founded at the end of 2024 and based in Mumbai, this deep-tech startup commercializes a product called DhruvaPro. This is a programmable RF chip designed for the front-end of navigation receivers. Unlike standard chips that operate on fixed frequency bands, DhruvaPro can be configured to function across various bands, providing enhanced flexibility.
Vijay Kanchetla, co-founder of MumbaiSemi, noted that after nearly six years of research at IIT-B, initially linked to a government project to create an RF chip for NavIC, the team completed two successful silicon development cycles and received positive industry feedback, prompting them to establish the company.
The startup team consists of 11 people, including Rajesh Zele, a co-founder who is also a professor at IIT Bombay. Kanchetla emphasized that DhruvaPro is one of the first reconfigurable RF chips for navigation receivers in India. The process involves the antenna receiving weak high-frequency satellite signals, followed by filtering, amplification, down-conversion, and digitization of the signal by the RF chip before transmitting binary data to the receiver's processor to determine position, speed, and time.
The initial goal was to create a chip capable of receiving India's NavIC signals. However, the team decided to make the technology compatible with all global navigation systems. Kanchetla stated that the chip is designed not only for the Indian market but also for worldwide supply, ensuring compatibility with NavIC, GPS, Galileo, GLONASS, and BeiDou.
According to the company, DhruvaPro can also be reprogrammed to operate on new frequency bands, allowing navigation systems to adapt without replacing the RF chip. Kanchetla explains that while most existing chips are tied to a single frequency, DhruvaPro can be tuned to any frequency 'on the fly,' bringing significant flexibility to the receiver system.
He added that DhruvaPro integrates with any processor and can receive navigation signals in any frequency band, allowing receiver systems to utilize multiple global navigation systems without hardware replacement. Although MumbaiSemi has completed several pilot projects and is currently pre-revenue, the startup anticipates a swift start to generating income.
One hurdle, according to Kanchetla, is the requirement from clients in major sectors such as transportation management, freight, and logistics, for complete receiver modules consisting of RF and digital base chips with specific interfaces. MumbaiSemi is focused on simplifying its integration technology, helping receiver module manufacturers easily upgrade their equipment and reduce reliance on imported modules.
The co-founder noted that implementation cycles are very long, and clients request a compatible receiver module that can simply be plugged in and replace existing ones. He is confident that by offering a highly adaptive domestic alternative to outdated chips, the company is well-positioned to meet both domestic and global daily navigation needs.
MumbaiSemi operates within the SINE incubator at IIT Bombay. DhruvaPro was developed by the same team at IIT Bombay and subsequently licensed to the startup; new developments are being conducted in-house. Kanchetla views MumbaiSemi as part of India's efforts to develop a domestic semiconductor ecosystem. While government initiatives have accelerated chip design, he believes the country still needs to build capabilities in packaging, system integration, and manufacturing.
Kanchetla expects the company to conduct a round of formal funding within six months of reaching additional milestones. In addition to DhruvaPro, MumbaiSemi is developing a next-generation navigation chip aimed directly at end-users, including vehicle and asset tracking. The startup is also exploring opportunities beyond satellite navigation, holding ideas that could aid in the development of technologies such as high-frequency lidar communication and high-speed data center connectivity. Over the next five years, the company plans to establish itself as a specialized supplier of high-engineering RF chips for the global market.