Bengaluru has become home to India's largest pre-silicon chip validation facility, located at the Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC). This facility marks a significant stride in bolstering the nation's semiconductor ecosystem and fostering self-reliance in chip design and manufacturing.
Pre-silicon validation is a critical process in semiconductor design that involves verifying the functionality and performance of a chip before it is fabricated. This process encompasses functional verification, performance validation, and design for testing, utilizing advanced simulation tools to predict the chip's behavior in real-world scenarios. By identifying and rectifying potential design flaws early on, pre-silicon validation helps to minimize costly errors, reduce time-to-market, and ensure the reliability of the final product.
The establishment of this advanced facility at C-DAC Bengaluru is a strategic move to provide comprehensive resources and support to startups, MSMEs, and academia involved in semiconductor design. The ChipIN Centre at C-DAC Bangalore serves as a central hub, offering access to industry-grade EDA tools, multi-project wafer (MPW) prototyping, and FPGA-based prototyping platforms. It also provides access to compute resources through the Param Utkarsh Supercomputing Facility, along with support for IC packaging and post-silicon validation.
This initiative aligns with the Indian government's vision to promote indigenous chip design and manufacturing through programs like the Chips to Startup (C2S) Programme and the Design Linked Incentive (DLI) Scheme. These programs aim to create a vibrant ecosystem where researchers, startups, and MSMEs can develop innovative solutions and contribute to the growth of the semiconductor industry. As of November 2025, over 285 academic institutions were leveraging ChipIN infrastructure under the C2S program, and over 70 startups were doing so under the DLI scheme to develop IPs and RISC-V based SoCs.
Furthermore, C-DAC is building a 30-petaflop supercomputer in Bengaluru. A petaflop is a measure of computer processing speed, equivalent to one quadrillion floating-point operations per second.
In related news, Rigetti Computing secured an $8.4 million order from C-DAC to deliver a 108-qubit quantum system to a Bengaluru data center, with deployment slated for the second half of 2026. Also, SmartSoC Solutions has partnered with ChipIN-CDAC to provide post-silicon validation services and multiple foundry options to startups under the DLI Scheme.
By lowering entry barriers and providing access to advanced tools, prototyping, training, and mentorship, the ChipIN Centre at C-DAC is playing a crucial role in advancing SoC development and strengthening India's journey towards semiconductor self-reliance.