Bharat Semi Raises $24 Million to Develop AI Image Sensors

India-based Bharat Semi has raised $24 million in an all-equity seed round to develop image sensors that handle capture and AI tasks on one chip for customers in the United States and other markets.

The round was led by Info Edge Group, South Park Commons and Indus Bridge Ventures. Valour Capital, Micromax, Gaingels and individual investors also participated. Bharat Semi plans to use the funding to expand its engineering team, complete product development and prepare its sensors for market.

The New Delhi-based startup is designing programmable sensors to process visual information alongside image capture, reducing the need for separate computing components. Co-founder Vrinda Kapoor said the approach could lower system costs by at least 70% compared with setups using a separate image sensor, image signal processor and system-on-a-chip.

Its target markets include connected homes, factory automation, surveillance systems and aerospace applications. Examples Kapoor described include air conditioners that detect an empty room and adjust automatically, and drones that process visual information without more expensive computing hardware elsewhere in the system.

Kapoor said the company has secured design wins for its sensor technology with U.S. defense technology company General Atomics and India's Kaynes Semicon. Its first-generation sensors are in prototype development. A second generation with more advanced AI features is expected to reach the prototype stage by mid-2027.

The startup targets initial commercial production in 2027 and plans to get the newer sensors to customers by year-end. Bharat Semi has about 75 employees across India and the United States, including 10 to 12 in its U.S. operations, which span engineering and business development in Santa Clara. Kapoor said the company plans to increase its U.S. headcount to about 20 by mid-2027 and has begun hiring engineers in Europe.

Bharat Semi also has a separate semiconductor fabrication project in India, announced in 2024 with a technology partnership involving the U.S. Space Force. Kapoor said that project remains in development as the startup works to identify Indian partners to build and operate the facility. She said the seed funding will not go toward the fabrication project. For its image-sensor business, Bharat Semi plans to outsource manufacturing and focus on semiconductor design and software.