TDB-DST Commits ₹130 Crore to BigEndian Semiconductors for Indigenous AI Vision SoC
Project VeerAI aims to take secure, application-specific semiconductor technology from TRL-5 to TRL-9
New Delhi, October 5, 2026: India has taken another step towards strengthening its domestic semiconductor ecosystem with the Technology Development Board (TDB), Department of Science & Technology (DST) signing an agreement with Bengaluru-based BigEndian Semiconductors for ₹130 crore in financial support under the Research Development and Innovation (RDI) Fund.
The support will be used for Project VeerAI, an indigenous camera-focused Artificial Intelligence Vision System-on-Chip (AI Vision SoC) designed to provide secure and application-specific computing capabilities. The overall project has a cost of ₹260 crore, with the TDB support being provided through Optional Convertible Debt (OCD).
The project aims to advance the technology from Technology Readiness Level (TRL)-5 to TRL-9, taking it from advanced development and validation towards commercial deployment.
Focus on secure AI-powered vision technology
Project VeerAI is being developed initially with CCTV and surveillance applications in mind. The proposed SoC is intended to combine AI processing with capabilities related to security, privacy and connectivity.
According to the project framework, the technology is intended to reduce dependence on externally developed semiconductor platforms and supply chains, while creating an indigenous alternative for intelligent surveillance systems in India and other markets in the Global South.
The technology could subsequently find applications beyond surveillance, including defence, automotive, industrial and medical sectors.
From Indian chip design to commercial deployment
The initiative seeks to utilise India’s growing expertise in VLSI design and semiconductor engineering and convert that domestic capability into a scalable product platform.
Rather than developing a general-purpose processor, Project VeerAI follows an application-specific SoC approach, allowing the chip architecture to be tailored to particular industry requirements. This could potentially support faster integration and deployment in specialised applications.
Under the RDI support, BigEndian Semiconductors will undertake additional technology development, validation, integration, testing and scale-up activities required to move the project towards TRL-9.
TDB highlights strategic importance
Rajesh Kumar Pathak, Secretary, TDB, said that semiconductors have become fundamental to almost every emerging technology and that building indigenous capabilities in application-specific AI chips is important for strengthening India’s technology ecosystem.
He said the RDI Fund is intended to provide sustained support to technologies that require substantial investment to progress from advanced development to commercial deployment. The agreement with BigEndian, he added, reflects TDB’s focus on helping Indian companies develop strategic semiconductor capabilities and convert domestic design expertise into deployable products.
BigEndian Semiconductors said the support would help accelerate the development, validation and commercialisation of Project VeerAI. The company said its objective is to build a secure, application-specific semiconductor platform capable of serving surveillance and other critical sectors while leveraging India’s indigenous semiconductor design capabilities.
Strengthening India’s semiconductor ecosystem
The project comes at a time when secure and locally developed semiconductor technologies are becoming increasingly important for connected devices and intelligent infrastructure.
Application-specific AI chips can potentially address requirements involving data security, privacy, device-level intelligence and technology sovereignty. By taking an indigenous design from TRL-5 through TRL-9, Project VeerAI is intended to bridge the gap between advanced technology development and market-ready semiconductor products.
BigEndian describes itself as a Bengaluru-based fabless semiconductor development company, with a focus on developing semiconductor solutions and an end-to-end SoC value chain. Its publicly stated solutions include surveillance-oriented SoC development. bigendiansemi.com
The ₹130-crore TDB support therefore represents a significant push towards developing an Indian-designed AI Vision SoC, with potential applications across multiple strategic and commercial sectors.
By Suman Munshi
Chief Editor, IBG NEWS
