Srini Chinamilli, co-founder and CEO of Tessolve
What have been some recent developments in the company?
Tessolve is the largest standalone semiconductor engineering solutions company. We provide an engineering platform for anyone who wants to design a chip and accelerate the products and semiconductor designs to productization.
Two years ago, we crossed the ₹1,000 crore mark and intend to reach ₹2,000 crore in revenue by next year. We’ve also raised funds for future expansion, with a $150 million investment from TPG for acquisitions and to strengthen our platform. Last year, we also acquired the Germany-based Dream Chip Technologies for ₹400 crore.
What are your largest global markets today? Are you focused mainly on large MNCs, or do you also serve SMEs and start-ups?
The majority of our customers are headquartered in North America. But these global companies have operations worldwide, like in India, Singapore, and Malaysia. Our biggest market is the US, followed by Europe and India coming in at third. In the country, we cater to India-headquartered companies and multinational companies in India.
Our customers include large companies and startups globally because they deal with advanced technologies and require more turnkey work.
Do you primarily work with semiconductor design companies or also firms involved in manufacturing, testing, and assembly?
We do complete end-to-end, from pre-silicon design to post-silicon test product engineering. Our clients are mostly semiconductor product companies that require engineering solutions, starting with architecture and design, and extending to product engineering and testing after fabrication. We work with product companies, EDA companies, test equipment companies, and partner with global fabs. We work with all the companies in the ecosystem and are not a design-only company.
How is India emerging as a semiconductor market amid initiatives like ISM 2.0 and the recent budget outlay?
We have been engaged in the Indian ecosystem, investing here for 20-plus years. In fact, we set up the first semiconductor test facility in Bangalore in 2004. The government did a good job of disbursing the $10 billion in the 1.0 program. Now, we await the details about ISM 2.0. We do a lot of engineering that enables manufacturing. Fabs and OSATs are partnering with us because they need deep engineering expertise to enable manufacturing. So we are excited about this mission.
Last year, we tested about 5 million parts in our labs. So we have the ingredients for manufacturing, testing, and engineering that can be transitioned to large volumes. We’re also working with some startups and IP companies in India who require other infrastructure.
Which sectors are currently driving growth in the semiconductor industry?
The hottest area now is anything to do with AI, whether it’s data center AI or Edge AI. In the two years, the rest of the industry has not been doing well. We’re hoping for a rebound this year. Leaving out non-AI companies, the global semiconductor industry contracted last year. This year, we see green shoots like consumer and automotive, which are gradually rebounding.
India imports a lot of semiconductor chips, so there is a need for indigenization. There’s an opportunity for Indian companies in power management chips, which are older node chips. Some microcontrollers can be more cost-effective. Then there are advanced chips and camera chips. India is also adopting AI models and trying to develop its own computing Infrastructure. This presents a great opportunity for somebody developing indigenous chips.
You’ve raised significant capital. Could you outline how you’re deploying these funds?
We want to strengthen our lab and engineering infrastructure. We are looking for acquisitions in Europe and other parts of the world, not for revenue or top line, but for capability additions. We are also close to finalizing an acquisition.
Operationally, we are cash flow positive, and so, we won’t use these funds for regular operations. To further strengthen our moat as a premier engineering solutions provider, we are aggressively evaluating both organic and inorganic investments.
Are you looking to hire more as part of your global expansion strategy?
We usually hire several hundred engineers every year. So within India, we’ll be expanding into both major and tier II cities. Globally, we are expanding in the US and Europe, especially in Germany and the Netherlands. We are planning for more than 20% growth again this year, to support which we have hiring plans.
Published on March 2, 2026