SiMa.ai Raises $150 Million for Physical AI Chips, With Half Its Team in Bengaluru

SiMa.ai, a chip startup building processors for robots, drones and vehicles, has raised $150 million in a Series C funding round that values it at about $1.45 billion. The round is a notable win for India's semiconductor design talent: nearly half of the US-headquartered company's roughly 200 employees work out of its Bengaluru office.

Who Invested

Fidelity Management & Research Company and Amplify co-led the round. Existing backers Alter Venture Partners, Dell Technologies Capital and StepStone Group also took part, while AllianceBernstein, Baron Capital and J.P. Morgan joined as new investors. The fresh capital takes SiMa.ai's total funding to about $500 million.

What Physical AI Means

Physical AI refers to machines that use artificial intelligence to sense and act in the real world, rather than working only inside data centres. Think of a warehouse robot that identifies and picks up objects, a drone that navigates on its own, or a car that reads road signs and brakes for pedestrians. These devices need chips that can run AI models locally, quickly and on limited battery power.

SiMa.ai's pitch is that it offers a lower-power alternative to the dominant hardware in this space, which is largely built around Nvidia's platforms. Founder and chief executive Krishna Rangasayee has described physical AI in humanoid robots, cars and drones as a massive, largely untapped market.

Where The Money Will Go

The company plans to use the funds on two fronts. The first is scaling Palette Neat, a development environment that uses AI agents to help engineers deploy models onto its chips far faster than traditional tools allow. The second is building the next version of Modalix, its system-on-chip for embedded robotics.

SiMa.ai is aiming to deliver about 1,000 tera operations per second (TOPS), a measure of AI processing power, with new hardware in the first half of 2028. That would place it in the performance range needed for advanced drones, humanoid robots, driver-assistance systems and AI-powered car cockpits.

Its current customers and partners include Bosch, Emerson, Micron and Synopsys.

The India Angle

The Bengaluru team gives the funding round clear significance for India. With roughly 90 employees in India, SiMa.ai is one of a growing number of global chip companies that rely on Indian talent for high-end design work rather than just support functions. The company has also reported early traction in robotics, drones and automobiles in the Indian market.

The raise comes as India pushes to build a domestic semiconductor ecosystem through government incentives for fabrication, packaging and design. Chip design, where Indian engineers already have deep experience, is widely seen as the country's strongest foothold in the industry. Well-funded companies like SiMa.ai expanding their Indian operations could help deepen that talent pool and create more senior design roles locally.

For India's startup ecosystem, the round is also a reminder that deep-tech hardware, not just software, is attracting large cheques from global investors.

This is an original summary based on public reporting. See our editorial policy for how we source, write, and correct our stories.