Introduction
Semiconductors are the backbone of modern technology, enabling applications such as artificial intelligence, cloud computing, 5G, and autonomous vehicles. However, the semiconductor industry is facing a global shortage of chips, driven by surging demand from various sectors and supply chain disruptions caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. This has created an opportunity for innovative startups to fill the gap and offer cutting-edge solutions to customers.
One such startup is AI Semicon, an Indian semiconductor company that was founded in 2021 by Deepa Pandith. AI Semicon aims to establish itself as a leading IC design company in India’s Silicon Valley, leveraging its expertise in high-performance computing (HPC), edge computing, Internet of Things (IoT), smart energy solutions, PCIe6 CXL Gen3 UCIe, and more.
History
AI Semicon was born out of Deepa Pandith’s passion for innovation and growth. She had previously worked at Aquantia, Conexant Systems, Cortina Systems, Intel, Marvel, and Rambus, where she held key roles in verification engineering and SoC functional verification. She also holds a Master’s degree in Microelectronics & VLSI Design from IIT Madras.
In March 2021, Deepa founded Applied Intelligence Semiconductors Pvt Ltd (AI Semicon), driven by the mission to establish it as a leading IC design company in India’s Silicon Valley. Her vision was to create products that would revolutionize the future of data-driven innovation. 
She is supported by her co-founder and executive vice president engineering Venkata Ranga Reddy S., who has over 18 years of technical and leadership experience in semiconductor design. He has worked at Intel, Marvel, Rambus, Conexant Systems, Cortina Systems Aquantia. He is also a masters graduate from IIT Madras.
Mahendra Karanam, Chairman & Managing Director, a serial entrepreneur with 18+ years of VLSI design. He has a track record of leadership in marketing, product development, strategy, and general management at renowned companies like Global Edge, Rambus, Conexant, NXP Semiconductors, Teranetics, and MoSys.
Mahendra holds a master’s degree from IISc, Bangalore, and a bachelor’s degree in Electronics and Communications. His remarkable insights and dedication drive our success.
Read More: Indian Semicon Startup Series: BITSILICA
Services offered by AI Semicon
At AI Semicon, they offer a range of cutting-edge products that leverage breakthrough technologies in the dynamic realm of VLSI. Our product lineup includes:
Domains covered by AISemiCon
1.High Performance Computing – Organizations are working to upgrade their data centers with intelligent new servers to meet the advanced requirements needed to power AI-driven systems. High-performance infrastructure is essential for meeting the demands of AI systems and supporting future needs. AISemiCon offers adaptable HPC SoC solution for computing, streaming, and AI/ML workloads.
2.Edge computing – AISemicon provides edge solutions for near-end use compute devices. They integrate high-performance computing (HPC) components, providing exceptional performance while operating at low power consumption. The advanced edge solutions seamlessly integrate into infrastructure, enabling the handling of data-intensive workloads with reduced latency.
3.IoT – They specialize in smart-home and smart-industrial applications, driving innovation in the IoT domain. Their products enable AI-based contextual automation, and seamlessly integrate smart technology into our daily life.
4.Smart Energy solutions – Their advanced smart energy solutions are engineered to cater to the precise demands of luminaire, electronic device chargers, and high-energy charging applications.
Read More: 15 Top Semiconductor companies in the World – techovedas
Silicon IPs provided.
AISemicon is a startup that provides silicon IP services for various segments of the semiconductor industry. According to their website, some of their services are:
IP Core Development: They offer a range of IP cores for analog, digital, and mixed-signal applications, such as ADCs, DACs, filters, oscillators, converters, etc. They also provide custom IP development services for specific customer requirements.
SoC Design: They provide SoC design services for embedded systems, IoT devices, edge computing platforms, etc. They leverage their expertise in HPC, IoT, and PCIe6 CXL Gen3 UCIe technologies to deliver high-performance and low-power SoCs.
FPGA Design: They offer FPGA design services for prototyping, testing, and validation of complex systems. They use Xilinx Vitis software tools to create FPGA designs with high efficiency and scalability.
ASIC Design: They provide ASIC design services for ASIC development and fabrication. They use Cadence Virtuoso software tools to create ASIC designs with high performance and reliability.
Technologies leveraged by AISemiCon
PCIe Gen6: This technology represents the next level of innovation, surpassing previous limits in data transfer speed. With an impressive throughput of 64 GT/s per lane per direction, PCIe Gen6 allows for the seamless integration of multiple Transaction Layer Packets (TLPs) into flits. AISemicon provides solutions that leverage the advantages of PCIe Gen6, including seamless integration with cache-coherent fabrics like CXL.
CXL 3.0: Their solutions leverage the CXL 3.0 protocol, which introduces advanced protocols such as CXL.mem and CXL.cache. These protocols extend cache-coherence from the node to the rack level, enabling a concept known as Composable Disaggregated Infrastructure (CDI). With CDI, larger pools of DRAMs and Accelerators can be utilized in unprecedented ways. AISemicon provides cutting-edge products that leverage the power of CXL 3.0 and CDI
UCIe: The die-to-die interconnect technology known as UCIe enables the standardization of Chiplet interfaces. With UCIe, chiplets from multiple vendors can be easily integrated within the same package, offering top performance and value without being locked into a single vendor due to interoperability issues. AISemicon provides solutions that leverage UCIe, empowering customers to achieve optimal performance and flexibility.
By offering solutions that harness the power of PCIe Gen6, CXL 3.0, and UCIe, AISemicon highlights the potential impact of these technologies, combined with scaling DDR memory, on data centers and clouds. The improvements in performance per watt and efficient resource utilization are expected in the coming years.
Partnerships
AISemiCon has partnerships with well-known organizations like IESA (India Electronics and Semiconductor Association). IESA is the premier industry body representing the Indian Electronic System Design and Manufacturing ESDM industry and has represented it since 2005. It is committed towards building global awareness for the Indian ESDM industry.
The company also has links with PCI – SIG. An acronym for Peripheral Component Interconnect Special Interest Group, PCI-SIG is an electronics industry consortium responsible for specifying the Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI), PCI-X, and PCI Express (PCIe) computer buses³. These are standards that define how devices such as graphics cards, sound cards, network cards, and storage controllers communicate with the main processor of a computer.
Conclusion
In conclusion, AISemiCon, a 2021-founded Indian semiconductor startup led by Deepa Pandith. It addresses the global chip shortage with high-performance computing, edge solutions, IoT, and smart energy products. Leveraging PCIe Gen6, CXL 3.0, and UCIe technologies. AISemiCon partners with IESA and PCI-SIG, positioning itself as a key player in global semiconductor innovation.
