Cyient has partnered with IIT Hyderabad (IITH) and WiSig Networks, a startup incubated at IITH, to enable volume production of India’s first architected and designed chip – the Koala NB-IoT SoC (Narrowband-IoT System-on-Chip). The Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signed between them is aligned with MEITY’s (Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, India) goals of building a vibrant semiconductor design and innovation ecosystem to enable the emergence of India as a global hub for electronics manufacturing and design.
IITH and WiSig developed the Koala chip, and Cyient enabled the IC (integrated circuit) design for this project. Volume production of the NB-IoT SoC includes the development of a package, production test solution suited for volume production, organization of silicon fabrication, volume testing of the IC, and the management of supplying the chip.
NB-IoT is a 5G massive Machine-Type-Communication (MTC) technology, a fast-growing one, that enables low-bit rate IoT applications with long-range and extends device battery life up to 10 years. Smart meters, machine-to-machine connectivity, Industry 4.0, a plethora of sensor connectivity, asset tracking, digital healthcare, and many more applications will benefit by using this NB-IoT chip.
Krishna Bodanapu, MD and CEO, Cyient, said, “We are proud to be part of this momentous project that puts India on the map on Semiconductor design innovation. We started with enabling the design of India’s first indigenously developed NB-IoT SoC chip with partners IIT- H and WiSig Networks. We are excited to join hands with them toward commercializing this 5G chip in the country. I thank these partners and MEITY for their trust in our expertise. “
Prof. B.S. Murty, Director, IITH, said, “I thank DoT and MEITY for enabling the design of an indigenously developed chip to reach the mass production stage. This is a major milestone in India’s 5G Fabless Chip Design space journey. I am also happy that an IITH incubated startup WiSig is partnering with an Indian MNC Cyient that showcases the success of translational research by IITH, which is crucial for realizing an Atma Nirbhar Bharat.”
