Bengaluru-based Agrani Labs has emerged from stealth mode after raising $8 million in a seed funding round led by Peak XV Partners, with additional participation from angel investors. The startup is focused on building advanced AI semiconductor technology from India for global markets.
Founded by former Intel and AMD executives Dheemanth Nagaraj, Ashok Jagannathan, Srikanth Nimmagadda, and Rajesh Vivekanandham, Agrani Labs is developing a high-performance AI GPU tailored for data centre workloads. The company is stepping into a fast-expanding market fueled by soaring demand for AI computing power, an area currently dominated by a small number of global players.
The newly raised capital will be used to strengthen the company’s engineering teams and push forward product development, as Agrani Labs works toward delivering globally competitive AI compute solutions designed and built in India.
Rather than focusing solely on hardware, Agrani Labs is building a full-stack AI compute platform. This includes not only GPU architecture and design but also a proprietary software stack encompassing compilers, libraries, system software, and AI frameworks to support end-to-end deployment.
The startup has also brought on Vinod Dham — widely known as the “Father of the Pentium” — as a founding advisor. Dham previously played a significant role in shaping Intel’s processor roadmap and has been closely involved with India’s semiconductor ecosystem.
Agrani Labs has already completed early work on architecture and product definition and has developed initial versions of both its hardware and software stack. To accelerate progress, the company is collaborating with academic institutions, semiconductor partners, government research organisations, and broader software ecosystems.
