Zoho-backed Netrasemi, incubated at Kerala’s TrEST Park, has raised ₹125 crore and launched its first chip for drones, cameras and robotics.
Indian semiconductor ecosystem: News, Updates & Discussions.
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Zoho-backed Netrasemi, incubated at Kerala’s TrEST Park, has raised ₹125 crore and launched its first chip for drones, cameras and robotics.
TDB-DST signs agreement with BigEndian Semiconductors for ₹130 crore RDI support to develop indigenous AI Vision SoC
Project VeerAI to advance secure, application-specific semiconductor technology from TRL-5 to TRL-9
Posted On: 05 OCT 2026 12:23PM by PIB DelhiStrengthening India’s efforts to build indigenous semiconductor capabilities for critical and emerging applications, the Technology Development Board (TDB), Department of Science & Technology (DST), Government of India, has signed an agreement with M/s BigEndian Semiconductors, Bengaluru, Karnataka for financial support of ₹130 crore under the Research Development and Innovation (RDI) Fund.
The project, Project VeerAI, has a total project cost of ₹260 crore and aims to take the technology from Technology Readiness Level (TRL)-5 to TRL-9. The financial support will be provided through Optional Convertible Debt (OCD). Project VeerAI seeks to develop a camera-focused AI Vision System-on-Chip (SoC) on a sovereign technology platform, addressing the growing requirement for secure, intelligent and application-specific semiconductor solutions.
The project is positioned around the development of a secure AI chip for surveillance applications, particularly CCTV systems, with the objective of reducing dependence on externally developed semiconductor and technology supply chains. The proposed platform is designed to combine AI processing and smart features with security, privacy and connectivity capabilities. The technology is being developed initially for CCTV and surveillance applications in India and the Global South, with a roadmap for deployment across multiple sectors. Beyond surveillance, the platform is envisaged for applications in defence, automotive, industrial and medical domains, creating a wider market for indigenous AI-enabled semiconductor solutions.
The project also seeks to leverage India’s growing VLSI design and semiconductor talent, translating domestic design capabilities into a scalable product platform. By focusing on application-specific SoCs rather than general-purpose chips, the programme aims to address specific industry requirements while enabling faster technology deployment and commercialisation. The development of indigenous AI and semiconductor technologies has growing significance as connected devices and intelligent systems become increasingly embedded across critical infrastructure. Secure and application-specific chips can play an important role in addressing requirements related to data security, privacy, device-level intelligence and technology sovereignty.
Through the RDI support, BigEndian Semiconductors will undertake further technology development, validation, integration, testing and scale-up activities required to progress Project VeerAI from TRL-5 to TRL-9.
QNu Labs, BISAG-N and IIT Gandhinagar Demonstrate 5 km-Scale Free-Space QKD Link
Matt Swayne
October 5, 2026
Insider Brief
- QNu Labs, BISAG-N and IIT Gandhinagar completed a 5.56-kilometer free-space quantum key distribution trial, integrating keys transmitted through the atmosphere with a post-quantum cryptography application.
- The link achieved a secure key rate of 230–260 bits per second with a quantum bit error rate below 5%, supporting successful encryption, transmission and decryption of a test message.
- The hybrid system combined quantum key distribution with post-quantum cryptography and quantum random number generation, with the software security layer designed to remain operational if the quantum channel becomes unavailable.
Conducted on the night of September 27–28, 2026, the trial established a 5.56 km free-space quantum communication link between BISAG-N and IIT Gandhinagar, with QNu Labs’ Pointing, Acquisition and Tracking (PAT) system maintaining the 1550 nm quantum channel. Using the DPS-Decoy QKD protocol, the link achieved a stable QBER below 5% and a secure key rate of 230–260 bps. The trial also demonstrated the end-to-end integration of QKD with BISAG-N’s Vedic Kavach PQC enabled browser and web server, with 256-bit keys delivered through the ETSI GS QKD 014 interface, enabling a test message to be encrypted, transmitted and successfully decrypted.
The trial combined two complementary layers of quantum security. QNu Labs’ QKD technology provided hardware-based quantum key distribution over the free-space optical channel, while Vedic Kavach provided a software layer based on post-quantum cryptography and quantum random number generation (QRNG). The architecture was designed so that the application remains protected even if the physical quantum channel is temporarily unavailable, providing a practical approach to building quantum-resilient communication systems.
Sunil Gupta, Co-founder and CEO, QNu Labs, said, “Quantum security will become meaningful at scale only when technologies can move beyond controlled laboratory environments and operate across real communication infrastructure. This field trial shows that QKD, supported by precise optical pointing and tracking, can be deployed over a multi-kilometer free-space link and integrated with a post-quantum security layer. The successful 5.56 km demonstration is an important step towards developing longer-distance quantum-secure networks and exploring architectures that can eventually support multiple nodes and satellite-based quantum communication.”
The technical performance of the trial was enabled by QNu Labs’ PAT system, which used coarse pointing through a gimbal and fine steering at a 100 Hz tracking bandwidth to maintain alignment between the two terminals. The system achieved coarse pointing accuracy of 5 microradians and fine pointing accuracy of up to 0.1 microradians, enabling the quantum channel to remain aligned despite atmospheric conditions and physical movement along the optical path.
Cmde Manish Tripathi (Retd.), In-charge, ISTF, IIT-G said, “The successful demonstration of a 5.56 km free-space QKD link provides a valuable field environment for advancing practical quantum communication technologies. The collaboration brings together academic research, indigenous technology and real-world experimentation, and demonstrates how these capabilities can be integrated to address the emerging requirements of secure communications.”
Dr. Vinay Thakur, DG BISAG-N said, “The integration of Vedic Kavach with QNu Labs’ QKD technology demonstrates the potential of combining post-quantum cryptography with quantum key distribution as complementary layers of security. The successful end-to-end application test is an important step towards developing practical quantum-resilient communication architectures that can evolve with emerging security requirements.”
At a secure key rate of 230–260 bps, the link generated approximately one fresh 256 bit key every second while maintaining QBER below 5%, demonstrating the viability of a hybrid QKD and PQC architecture in a field environment. The trial provides a foundation for advancing towards longer links, multiple nodes and, eventually, satellite-based quantum communication, while strengthening the resilience of critical communication infrastructure against emerging quantum era security threats.
QNu Labs, BISAG-N and IIT Gandhinagar Demonstrate 5 km-Scale Free-Space QKD Link