Bengaluru, India | January 28, 2026: Agrani Labs, an AI semiconductor startup founded by distinguished veterans from Intel and AMD, has officially launched after operating in stealth mode. The company also announced the successful close of an $8 million seed funding round led by Peak XV Partners, with participation from prominent angel investors.
This marks one of the most ambitious deep‑tech ventures to emerge from India’s startup ecosystem, positioning the country as a credible innovator in advanced semiconductor design and compute infrastructure at a time when the global GPU market is projected to grow from $207 billion in 2025 to over $1 trillion annually by 2030.
Strategic Vision
Agrani Labs is building high‑performance AI GPUs from the ground up, addressing the bottlenecks that have limited adoption of non‑incumbent AI chips. Unlike traditional hardware‑only approaches, Agrani is developing a full‑stack solution, including AI frameworks, compilers, libraries, and system software—ensuring seamless integration and usability for enterprises.
Dheemanth Nagaraj, Co‑Founder & CEO, Agrani Labs, said: “AI is the most impactful technology inflection of the century. For a team that has lived and breathed compute architecture for decades, building an AI computer grounds‑up is deeply gratifying. We are leveraging India’s immense semiconductor and software talent to build a product that will compete globally.”
Ashish Agrawal, MD, Peak XV Partners, added: “Accelerated compute silicon is one of the most strategic markets worldwide. Agrani’s founders bring rare architectural judgment, delivery discipline, and experience—qualities essential to tackling this challenge. We’re excited to partner with them as they aspire to build one of the world’s leading fabless semiconductor companies from India.”
Vinod Dham, Founding Advisor, Agrani Labs, noted: “Agrani’s clarity of architectural thinking and disciplined execution are exactly what’s needed to pioneer globally relevant semiconductor innovation from India. I am delighted to support them on this journey.”
Founding Team
Agrani’s founding team brings 100+ years of combined experience in datacentre product design:
- Dheemanth Nagaraj, CEO – Former Intel Fellow and Senior Fellow at AMD.
- Ashok Jagannathan, Chief Architect – Former Senior Principal Engineer at Intel.
- Srikanth Nimmagadda, Chief Chip Technologist – Former Senior Principal Engineer at Intel.
- Rajesh Vivekanandham, Chief Performance Engineer – Former Principal Engineer at AMD and Intel.
The team has collectively designed and shipped processors powering datacentres worldwide, generating billions in revenue.
Progress & Partnerships
- Built early versions of hardware and software stack.
- Collaborating with global academic institutions, semiconductor partners, government research organizations, and deep‑tech ecosystems.
- Assembled a world‑class team combining experienced technologists and young graduates from India’s leading institutions.
About Agrani Labs
Agrani Labs is an AI semiconductor company building GPU solutions for datacentres. Founded by Intel and AMD veterans with over 100 years of combined experience, Agrani Labs is backed by Peak XV Partners and leading angel investors. The company is developing a full‑stack AI compute platform to compete globally in the rapidly expanding GPU market.
Website: www.agranilabs.com
