- Makr is developing technology that allows chipmakers to see and measure what is happening beneath the surface of a chip at the nanoscale, the company said in a press release today, September 3.
- Bluehill VC, with general partner Manu Iyer, leads a Rs 10.2 crore seed round in Makr Microsystems.
- India is beginning to build depth across this stack. With India Semiconductor Mission 2.0, the country’s semiconductor ambitions are expanding beyond fabs and chip design to include semiconductor equipment, materials, R&D and broader supply-chain capabilities.
- While much of the semiconductor investment conversation has centred around fabless chip companies, the semiconductor value chain extends far beyond the chip itself. The equipment, materials and measurement technologies that enable manufacturing are equally critical and often far harder to build.
- For Bluehill, this is an important part of the opportunity. The Fund is looking beyond the most visible parts of the semiconductor value chain to back frontier technologies that can become critical infrastructure for the industry.
- Makr is one such bet, led by Ashwin Lal, who brings experience across semiconductor technology and scientific instrumentation. Lal said, “Semiconductor manufacturing is creating structures that are increasingly difficult to see and measure. As architectures move into the third dimension, understanding what is happening beneath the surface becomes critical to improving yield. Our goal is to make the subsurface measurable, non-destructively and at the resolution the next generation of chipmaking demands.”
Bluehill VC has spearheaded a Rs 10.2 crore seed round for Makr Microsystems, a startup focused on semiconductor metrology, with participation from Artha Venture Fund. This funding aims to enhance technology development and customer validation for Makr, which is innovating in the semiconductor manufacturing space.12567
Makr's technology allows chipmakers to measure beneath the surface of chips at the nanoscale, a critical advancement as semiconductor architectures become increasingly complex. Manu Iyer, general partner at Bluehill VC, expressed enthusiasm for Makr's potential, stating, “We are excited about companies that sit deeper in critical technology value chains. Makr is solving a difficult problem in semiconductor manufacturing at a time when the industry is moving toward increasingly complex architectures.”
The investment aligns with India's broader semiconductor ambitions, particularly under the India Semiconductor Mission 2.0, which aims to expand capabilities beyond chip design to include essential equipment and measurement technologies. Makr's CEO, Ashwin Lal, emphasized the importance of their technology, saying, “Semiconductor manufacturing is creating structures that are increasingly difficult to see and measure. Our goal is to make the subsurface measurable, non-destructively and at the resolution the next generation of chipmaking demands.”3
This funding round marks a significant step in building critical infrastructure for the semiconductor industry, which extends beyond just chip production to encompass the entire value chain.
“Makr, led by Ashwin Lal, aims to make subsurface measurement non-destructive and at the resolution next-gen chipmaking demands. Bluehill's Manu Iyer said the fund backs frontier tech that can become critical infrastructure, citing India Semiconductor Mission 2.0's push beyond fabs into equipment and materials.”
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