Bangalore-based Saankhya Labs launches indigenous Pruthvi-3 chip

Bengaluru-based Saankhya Labs on Thursday unveiled the first indigenously developed electronic chipset that can be used for functions like direct TV broadcast on mobile devices, curbing call drops and 5G connections.

"Saankhya Labs, a Bengaluru-based company is launching its indigenously designed and developed, the world's first and most advanced multi-standard next-generation TV system on the chip," Telecom Minister Manoj Sinha said after unveiling the chipset.

All electronic chipsets, considered as the heart of modern devices, have been developed by foreign companies so far. None of them is made in India because there is no modern semiconductor manufacturing plant in the country.

Electronic chipsets of Saankhya Labs are also being manufactured at Samsung facility in South Korea.

"I am also told that this broadband-broadcast convergence technology has great potential to minimise or eliminate call quality issues faced by telecom operators today," Sinha said.

Saankhya Labs co-founder and CEO Parag Naik said the chipset will help in separating video content from a mobile network and hence reduce the load on the spectrum for improving call quality.

Saankhya's Pruthvi-3 chipset will facilitate direct transmission of video on mobile phones and can also help convert an Android-based smartphone into a satellite phone.

The company expects to launch its chipset-based mobile phone accessories in the form of a dongle and mobile phones within a couple of years, Naik said.

"Semiconductor technology takes time in maturing and adoption. Original design manufacturers will incorporate our chipsets into various products. We will try for getting certain standards based on our technology incorporated in 5G services. Our chipsets are 30% more efficient in output compared to our nearest competitor and 50 per cent cheaper too," he said.

The company already has clients in the US and China and bagged orders to supply 5 million chipsets for various kinds of devices.

"We are looking at 50% year-on-year growth in business. In this financial year, we are expecting sales of around USD 14-15 million (₹98-105 crore). We have advance orders for supplying 5 million chipsets to companies in the US that they will use in tablets (PCs), television gateways etc. This order will be completed by the first quarter of 2020," Naik said.

Saankhya Labs has started a pilot for rural broadband services in Scotland and Africa and received a request for the project in the Philippines, Brazil and the US.

"We are in talks with an Indian firm to start rural broadband trials in the country," Naik said.

He said that in the next two years TV gateways, rural broadband technology, satellite communications and defence will be the main contributor to the business.