A Bengaluru-based semiconductor startup called HrdWyr has closed a $13 million Series A funding round to develop AI-native chips designed for what the company calls the “Physical AI” era. The round was led by Ideasping Capital, with participation from Singularity AMC, Avatar Growth Capital, and seed investor Persistent Systems. The funding will go toward expanding the company’s AI-native System-on-Chip products and growing its presence in global markets.
What HrdWyr Is Building
HrdWyr describes itself as a global fabless semiconductor product company, meaning it designs chips without operating its own manufacturing facilities. Unlike general-purpose chips that serve a wide range of tasks, the company engineers AI-native chips built from scratch for specific industries. These chips are designed to handle intelligent edge processing, deliver strong power efficiency, reduce latency, and simplify system design.
At the center of HrdWyr’s technology is a concept called True Edge Autonomy, or TEA. This framework is powered by an agentic AI stack built using Reinforced Learning, which the company says unlocks the full performance potential of its chips. The idea is to bring intelligence directly into the chip, so devices can sense, learn, and respond in real time right where data is being generated, rather than sending it to a remote server.
Speaking about the fundraise, Ramamurthy Sivakumar, Founder and CEO of HrdWyr, explained that the world is entering a phase where advanced intelligence will merge with real-world systems. He said this moment demands a complete rethinking of how computing hardware is designed, moving from chips that treat AI as an added feature to chips that are built with AI at their core from the very beginning. He added that HrdWyr’s goal is not just to build chips but to work alongside customers to solve domain-specific problems and help them lead this shift rather than simply react to it.
Naganand Doraswamy, Managing Partner and Founder of Ideasping Capital, said HrdWyr is building a family of AI chips that address power management and efficiency across sectors including home appliances, electric vehicles, and data centers. He emphasized that this aligns with Ideasping’s broader mission of building globally competitive products out of India and contributing to the country’s semiconductor self-reliance.
Dr. Anand Deshpande, Founder and Managing Director of Persistent Systems, noted that AI is driving a deeper convergence between semiconductors, data, and intelligent software. He said Persistent’s investment in HrdWyr reflects its focus on AI-driven, software-led engineering and that the company is well positioned to build products with global relevance from India.
Rajiv Gupta, Partner at Avatar Growth Capital, highlighted HrdWyr’s focus on energy-efficient systems and deep intellectual property as key differentiators from generic compute solutions. He mentioned that HrdWyr’s purpose-built chips can help Indian manufacturers reduce supply chain risks, shorten product development timelines, strengthen data sovereignty, and unlock new intelligence capabilities from their devices.
HrdWyr’s leadership team collectively brings over 250 years of experience in the semiconductor industry, spanning nearly four decades of technology transitions from older chip architectures to near one-nanometer designs today. The team has delivered chips across wireless, networking, automotive, storage, and industrial sectors, with dozens of successful tape-outs and hundreds of products shipped worldwide. This depth of experience, the company says, positions it to architect complex solutions and deliver high-impact innovations tailored to customer needs.
The company has also recently announced a strategic collaboration with boAt, one of India’s leading consumer electronics brands, which it describes as early validation of its approach in the consumer technology space.
HrdWyr is positioning itself as one of India’s first AI-native chip companies with a clear focus on global markets. With this fresh capital, the company plans to push forward on its chip development roadmap and deepen customer partnerships across key international markets. As demand grows for smarter, more efficient chips at the edge, HrdWyr is betting that the future of semiconductors belongs to companies that build AI in from the ground up, not as an afterthought.
Source: HrdWyr Official Press Release, May 12, 2026
