Design. Integrate. Validate. Qualify. Pilot. Commercialise.
Validation and commercialisation support for semiconductor design, advanced materials and application development with indigenous chips. Implemented jointly by the Maker Hub and Atal EIC.
CHIPMAT bridges the gap between a technically promising prototype and a commercially deployable product, process, design IP, material platform or indigenous-chip-based application. The grant pays for the high-risk validation work that customers and investors expect, but early-stage ventures often cannot finance.
Analog, mixed-signal, digital, RF and mmWave ICs · ASICs, SoCs, RISC-V, accelerators, reusable IP · Power ICs on Si, SiC, GaN · MEMS, smart sensors · Edge AI, hardware security · Silicon photonics · Chiplets and advanced packaging · Verification, DFT, EDA automation.
Electronic, dielectric, piezoelectric and magnetic materials · Graphene, 2D materials, thin films · Wide-bandgap semiconductors · Flexible and printed electronics · Substrates, interposers, encapsulants · Thermal-interface materials · Semiconductor-grade chemicals and precursors · Circular semiconductor technologies.
Embedded, edge-AI, IoT and cyber-physical products built around indigenous processors, MCUs, ASICs, FPGAs and sensors · Reference designs, modules, gateways · Firmware, drivers, BSPs, toolchains · Porting and optimisation · Qualification, certification and customer pilots in healthcare, mobility, energy, telecom, defence, space, agriculture and fisheries.
| Tranche | Share | Trigger | Illustrative evidence |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 30% | Grant agreement and approved execution plan | Detailed milestones, quotations, baseline data and vendor plan |
| 2 | 30% | Completion of first technical milestone set | Design review, sample data, application-integration or prototype evidence |
| 3 | 25% | Prototype / fabrication / application-integration / pilot-batch milestone | Chip, packaged device, validated material, integrated prototype or pilot batch |
| 4 | 15% | Final validation and commercialisation milestone | Independent report, customer feedback, manufacturing and market-entry plan |
| Criterion | Weight | Key question |
|---|---|---|
| Technical innovation and differentiation | 15% | Is the solution meaningfully better, defensible and technically credible? |
| Existing maturity and evidence | 15% | Has feasibility been demonstrated with relevant data? |
| Validation plan | 15% | Will the proposed work remove the key adoption risks? |
| Commercial need and market opportunity | 15% | Is there a clear use case, customer pain point and addressable market? |
| Customer or industry engagement | 10% | Are users, pilots, evaluators or partners identified? |
| Milestones and budget | 10% | Are outputs measurable, realistic and cost-effective? |
| Team capability and commitment | 10% | Can the team execute the technical and commercial plan? |
| IP and competitive position | 5% | Are ownership and protection credible? |
| Manufacturing / deployment / scale-up potential | 5% | Is there a realistic route beyond the grant? |
Submission of technical, commercial, financial, IP and team information in the prescribed format.
Review of thematic fit, legal eligibility, maturity, completeness and overlap with other funding.
Assessment by semiconductor, materials, embedded-system, application-engineering, product and commercial experts.
Technical clarification, milestone refinement, customer validation review and budget rationalisation.
Presentation to the Grant Selection and Review Committee; verification of claims, ownership, quotations and partner commitments.
Sanction, execution of the milestone-based grant agreement and equity documentation, and project commencement.
Design and architecture reviews · EDA, FPGA, PCB and prototyping facilities · Connections to indigenous-chip developers, SDKs and BSPs · Foundry, MPW, packaging, test and certification networks · Materials synthesis and characterisation partners.
Customer discovery and pilot structuring · Corporate, government and industry introductions · Pricing, licensing and go-to-market · Supply-chain and technology-transfer planning · Investor readiness and follow-on funding.
Prior-art and patentability guidance · Indian patent filing · Founder, licence and technology-transfer agreements · Confidentiality and pilot agreements · Background vs. foreground IP definition.
Submit a short Expression of Interest. Shortlisted applicants will be invited to complete the full application package (Section 8.1 of the guidelines) with budget, milestones and supporting documents.
