Mindgrove partners Pinetics to bring Indian chips into biometric and identity systems

As countries push to localize identity infrastructure, biometric systems are emerging as a key battleground for semiconductor independence.

Indian fabless chip startup Mindgrove Technologies has entered a two-year partnership with design firm Pinetics to integrate its chips into modules for biometric, identity and secure IoT devices.

The agreement focuses on integrating Mindgrove’s Secure IoT and forthcoming Vision SoCs into Pinetics’ system‑on‑module (SoM) platforms. This allows the chips to be deployed in biometric access control systems, smart locks, surveillance cameras and other applications that rely on secure sensing and authentication.

India imports much of its silicon. Mindgrove was created in 2021 to change this, looking to design production-grade chips that could be made domestically. ODM company Pinetics is headquartered in Pune and also operates legal entities in the U.S. and the UK. Mindgrove is incubated at the IIT Madras Research Park in Chennai.

Biometric workloads require secure processing, encryption and low-power performance — a focus for Mindgrove’s 28nm Secure IoT SoC. Its in-development Vision SoC targets high‑performance imaging and AI inference. This suits surveillance systems, automotive cameras and advanced access control terminals.

By embedding these chips into Pinetics’ modules, manufacturers can adopt Indian silicon without redesigning entire products. While local Indian firms have excelled in PCB design, firmware and assembly, they’ve been reliant on imported semiconductor components.

Biometric systems often sit at the nexus of digital public infrastructure, digital identity and enterprise access. The partnership points toward a more complete domestic pipeline, from chip design to module integration and finished devices. The category is strategically sensitive as countries push to localize identity infrastructure and reduce dependence on foreign semiconductor supply chains.

Pinetics will use its product design and ODM capabilities to build integrated modules around Mindgrove’s silicon. This gives manufacturers a local alternative to foreign module suppliers, but reaching the scale required will be a major challenge. Mindgrove CEO Shashwath T R believes the partnership is a step toward mainstream adoption of Indian semiconductor technology, reports Machine Maker, emphasizing that real‑world integration into biometric and IoT products is essential for ecosystem growth.

Pinetics CEO Navin Goyal noted that semiconductors have historically been the hardest component to localize, and that working with a domestic chip provider enables tighter alignment with evolving industry needs.

Biometric and identity systems could provide the first large-scale commercial proving ground for Indian-designed chips, if the ecosystem can scale beyond prototypes.

Integration strategy targets lower device costs

Mindgrove’s Secure IoT chip is positioned as a commercial-grade microcontroller SoC. Built on the open-source RISC-V architecture, the company claims its chip can reduce device costs by almost 30 percent relative to imported options.

“We are right on the cusp of actually having it commercially available for everybody to buy,” CEO Shashwath told Money Control. He said several customers are currently testing prototype versions of the chip. The executive sees biometric systems used in onboarding by telecoms and identity authentication infrastructure as its initial market.

Mindgrove wants to differentiate by attempting to integrate several functionalities into a single chip, thereby reducing the need for “five or six” other components. This would offer a way to reduce the total cost of devices, Shashwath said.

The chip startup is also working on a Vision SoC for edge computing and vision-processing applications like CCTV cameras, ADAS systems, dashcams and smart TVs. Development on the Vision chip is being supported from the Indian government’s Design Linked Incentive (DLI) scheme. According to the CEO, they are about a third of the way into designing this more complex chip.

In an interview, Shashwath clarified that Mindgrove does not operate a chip factory. Like chip giants such as Nvidia, AMD and Qualcomm, Mindgrove designs and sells its chips under its brand — but fabrication is outsourced to TSMC’s foundry in Taiwan. Mindgrove is looking to partner with Tata as the Indian giant is developing its fab in Dholera, Gujarat.

“At the most basic level, what we do looks like writing software,” the co-founder told Money Control. “But instead of compiling something that runs on a computer, we compile something that gives the computer itself a brain.”

The Chennai-based startup is backed by investors including Mela Ventures, Peak XV Partners, Rocketship.vc and Speciale Invest in the highly capital-intensive area of chip development. It has raised $8 million so far and the current plan is to go to market before another funding round is considered.

“A lot of chips you get from [overseas] aren’t designed for the ecosystem you find [in India],” Shashwath said, mentioning Aadhaar authentication and hardware-level biometric data recognition for privacy security. “We’re working with OEMs so they can use SoCs with Indian support — including documentation they can understand. That reduces time-to-market and cost of development.”

Article Topics

AI chips  |  biometrics  |  India  |  microcontroller  |  Mindgrove  |  tech sovereignty