CORPORATE news

Vedanta looking for buyers of its chips that are yet to be made

Vedanta Group is in talks with various electronics brands to keep a pipeline of clients ready when it rolls out chips from its soon-to-beannounced semiconductor plant in India. It had announced a JV with Taiwanese electronics manufacturer Foxconn in January for a multi-billion dollar semiconductor manufacturing plan that would draw on the Centre’s $10-billion incentive package unveiled late last year. The group is talking to several states, including Gujarat, Maharashtra, and Telangana, to set up its semiconductor plant in India.

EPIC Foundation to set up Electronics City in Delhi

A 100-acre Electronics City in Delhi is being set up by EPIC Foundation to develop the electronics product design and manufacturing ecosystem. It has already signed an MoU with the state government for the same. HCL founder Arjun Malhotra, one of the founding members said, “It will be a plug-and-play facility modelled around flatted factories and has the potential to generate 80,000 jobs. The idea is to have 40 manufacturing facilities that are vertically integrated.” Dr Satya Gupta, one of the other founders adds, “The long-term charter is to have 25% market share for Indian products, that represents a $45 billion opportunity, and we are going after that.”

Applied Materials to invest in India, seeks land in Bengaluru

Applied Materials has announced a cumulative investment of ` 18 billion to help build chips in India over the next few years. As a material engineering solution and one of the largest semiconductor display equipment manufacturers in the world, it is also investing $50 million to purchase land in Whitefield, Bengaluru, where the company plans to expand its engineering infrastructure and support the next phase of growth.

BrainChip and MosChip Technologies to co-present at IESA summit

The joint session being organised by BrainChip Holding and MosChip Technologies at the India Electronics & Semiconductor Association (IESA) AI Summit would discuss how the companies are working collaboratively to enable neural network IP for edge applications. A demonstration of BrainChip’s Akida neural processor IP, enabling high performance and ultra-low power on-chip inference and learning and MosChip’s ASIC platform for smart edge devices would also be held.

SEMI and ELCINA discuss opportunities for the industry

The two associations, SEMI and ELCINA, have agreed to foster collaboration and identify potential opportunities in the upcoming semiconductor and microelectronics sector in the country. The vision of the industry leaders is to catalyse the industry in India and support investors by ensuring that the benefits of the semiconductor and other schemes under National Policy on Electronics are delivered to them and targets achieved.

ISMC to set up India’s first chip manufacturing plant

International Semiconductor Consortium (ISMC) is setting up India’s first semiconductor manufacturing plant for which it will invest $3 billion in Karnataka. They have requested 150 acres of land in Mysuru’s Kochanahalli Industrial Area for the unit. ISMC is a joint venture between Abu Dhabi based Next Orbit Ventures and Israel’s Tower Semiconductor, which was recently proposed to be acquired by Intel Corp.

Qualcomm and C-DAC team up to provide mentorship

Up to ten Indian semiconductor startups will be shortlisted for QSMP 2022. Each of them will be paired with a Qualcomm India leader for mentorship on product planning and development. The startup and the mentor will meet on a periodic basis either in person or online. Qualcomm India will also facilitate ‘Masterclass’ workshops for the shortlisted startups on semiconductor design aspects, such as design, testing, and verification packaging, as well as on non-technical topics, such as pitches, IPR, marketing, government incentives/opportunities, and scaling up teams. C-DAC and Qualcomm India will facilitate exposure for these startups to government stakeholders through meetings, webinars, seminars, or trade shows.

Videotex to set up a new TV manufacturing plant in NCR

The new plant of Videotex International will increase its manufacturing capacity to 3.2 million TVs through an investment of one billion rupees. The capacity of the current plants are 1.4 million units. The company also said that it will be hiring new employees to meet the expanded manufacturing capacity, that includes back office staff along with those on the manufacturing floor and more at the new TV manufacturing plant in Greater Noida in the National Capital Region (NCR). The company is also a beneficiary of the government’s production linked incentive (PLI) scheme for mobile phones announced in March 2020.

HMD Global looking to scale up mobile exports from India

HMD Global is keen to scale up its mobile exports from India as the company looks at various levers, including sourcing more components locally, to deepen its commitment towards the manufacturing ecosystem in the country. The firm recently announced a slew of devices—Nokia G21 smartphone, Nokia C01 Plus, and feature phones Nokia 105 Plus and Nokia 105.

Ather Energy raises $128 million in Series E funding round

Led by the National Investment and Infrastructure Fund’s (NIIF) Strategic Opportunities Fund (SOF) and Hero MotoCorp, electric

two-wheeler giant, Ather Energy has raised $128 million in a Series E round of funding. The funds will be used to expand manufacturing facilities, research and development, charging infrastructure, and retail network growth. There are 100 odd suppliers who provide customised components as the scooter has been built from scratch. The founder says they will support these suppliers so that they can ramp up production to 60,000-70,000 a month.

Toyota planning to make EV parts in Karnataka

Looking to develop electric vehicle (EV) parts in India, automaker Toyota group firms are planning to invest about ` 48 billion in Karnataka for local production of powertrain parts and other components of electric vehicles. They plan to utilise their existing facilities in the state. A memorandum of understanding (MoU) has been signed with the Karnataka government in this regard. While TKM and Toyota Kirloskar Auto Parts (TKAP) will invest ` 41 billion, Toyota Industries Engine India will pitch in with another ` 7 billion. The Toyota group companies have already invested ` 118.12 billion in the country and employ more than 8000 people at present.

HOP Electric raises $2.6 million as part of $10 million fundraiser

Growing at an MoM rate of 50%, HOP Electric Mobility has closed a strategic round of $2.6 million as part of an ongoing $10 million pre-series fundraising. The EV maker is targeting a 10x growth in 2022. HOP Electric Mobility, a diversified business venture of Rays Power Infra, is one of the three new non-automotive investors to qualify under the production linked incentive scheme for OEMs earlier this year. It has also embarked on its multi-battery modular platform’s design and engineering journey developing Gen 2 smart batteries and swapping stations.

BEL to manufacture battery packs for Triton electric trucks

An MoU has been signed between Triton and the Gujarat State Government for setting up an iconic EV truck manufacturing plant with a commitment to invest around Rs 108 billion over a span of five years. Li-ion battery packs would be manufactured by the Pune unit of Navratna Defence PSU Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL). The partnership between BEL and Triton is set to give a major boost to the Atmanirbhar Bharat initiative.

Ford calls off EV manufacturing plans in India

Shortlisted among the twenty automakers under the Champion OEM scheme, Ford’s plans to manufacture electric vehicles in India have now been called off. Last year, Ford India had announced the shutdown of its manufacturing units at Maraimalai Nagar in Tamil Nadu and Sanand in Gujarat. The decision of

Ford to opt out of EV production in India has cast doubt on the future of workers at the company’s now-shut Chennai plant. Tamil Nadu was betting big on EVs, with the state even extending its talks with players like Tesla. Approximately 4000 employees are expected to be affected by this.

IIT-M incubated EV sub-component manufacturing startup raises funds

IIT Madras (IIT-M) based electric vehicle (EV) sub-component manufacturing startup, Revoh Innovations Private Ltd, has raised $150,000 in a seed round from angel investors Vel Kanniappan and Ravi Renganathan. Revoh’s R&D division will continue to function from the IIT-M Research Park. Incorporated a couple of years ago by a group of electronics engineering graduates, Revoh’s primary goal is to localise the electric vehicle subcomponents’ manufacturing and eventually reduce country’s dependence on foreign manufacturers. It has also exported the BLDC controllers to clients in the UK and Netherlands.

Tata group may enter the battery business soon

Tata Group is preparing the blueprint to launch a battery company as part of its transition to be future-ready. Tata group is keen to see electric vehicle ecosystem growth in the country. While the existing business is undergoing transformation, the group has also entered new areas, like the Tata Neu super app, to prepare itself for an omni-channel consumer-facing ecosystem and the launch of a very large scale precision manufacturing electronics company, which has global aspirations.

Switch Mobility to develop EV range in the UK and India

Switch Mobility is planning to develop a range of electric vehicles that would create over 4000 skilled jobs in the UK and India. The UK venue is expected to start operation in June 2022 and will work closely with the company’s existing R&D offices in Chennai, Leeds, and Valladolid employing a further 200 engineers.

Sun Mobility and Greaves Electric Mobility sign MoU for swappable EV batteries

As part of an MoU agreement, Greaves Electric Mobility (GEM) and Sun Mobility will deploy swappable batteries for electric vehicles in the country. With Sun Mobility’s battery technology, GEM aims to use the infrastructure and battery for both electric two-wheelers and three-wheelers. Through this venture, GEM also aims to enhance the EV ecosystem by offering an array of multibrand smart mobility commuting.

Garuda Aerospace raises pre Series A funding for drones

Garuda Aerospace has raised an undisclosed sum as pre Series A funding from investors led by Ocgrow Ventures. The drone manufacturer and drone-as-a-service provider will ship out about 4000 drones to African countries. This investment round would serve more so as a primer before the startup’s larger $30 million series A round scheduled in June 2022. Garuda is also the lowest bidder in the RITES Ltd tender for lidar based survey.

IdeaForge raises Series B funding for drones

Drone manufacturer IdeaForge has raised $20 million in a Series B funding round led by Florintree. The round also saw participation from the company’s existing investors Celesta (a prominent technology investment fund), Infosys, Qualcomm, and Infina, along with the Exim Bank of India. Founded in 2007 by IIT Bombay alumni, IdeaForge has over fifteen years of R&D history and it owns more than 20 global patents.

Rays Power Infra sells its solar projects to global investors

Solar PV cell maker Rays Power Infra has sold its solar projects in Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, and Telangana to two global investors for over ` 7 billion. These projects had accumulated debt worth approximately ` 4 billion and had EBITDA of ` 950 million. The transactions have enabled the company to raise enough capital to support its future growth. Rays Power Infra has already completed more than 1GW of project commissioning and asset sale.

IIT-P signs MoU with IoT startup Redinent for R&D and innovation

Indian Institute of Technology Patna (IIT-P) has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Bangalore based IoT cybersecurity startup Redinent for research, development, and innovation in IoT and cybersecurity products. The MoU signing function was attended by senior officers from both sides.