MumbaiSemi unveils DhruvaPro, a GNSS receiver chip compatible with NavIC

Origins and development

MumbaiSemi’s DhruvaPro chip began as a research project at IIT Bombay, funded by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology through the nodal agency SAMEER. The project, initially named Dhruva, was led by students and researchers in Professor Rajesh Zele’s laboratory. According to YourStory, the first silicon prototype was fabricated in December 2019, with Zele noting that the chip was designed entirely by students within 18 months.

The technology addresses a key limitation in conventional GNSS receivers: the need for multiple chips or hardware changes to support different satellite constellations. DhruvaPro is fully programmable across the frequency bands used by NavIC, GPS, Galileo, and BeiDou, eliminating the need for external components or hardware modifications.

Technical capabilities

The chip is designed to amplify faint satellite signals—reportedly by roughly 400,000 times—before converting them to digital format on the same chip. This approach reduces the number of external components required, lowering both the size and cost of the receiver module, which is the actual product device manufacturers would integrate.

MumbaiSemi describes DhruvaPro as silicon-proven, meaning it has been fabricated and tested, not just simulated. The company also holds two patents related to the design, as reported by YourStory.

Founders and institutional support

MumbaiSemi was founded in January 2024 by Dr Vijay Kanchetla and Professor Rajesh Zele. Kanchetla, who previously worked at Intel, holds a doctorate in radio frequency integrated circuit design from IIT Bombay. Zele, a faculty member in the electrical engineering department, earned his doctorate from Carnegie Mellon University.

The company is incubated at SINE, IIT Bombay’s technology business incubator, and has received pre-seed funding, though the amount remains undisclosed.

Recognition and commercial status

The project received the Dr P. K. Patwardhan Technology Development Award for 2024 from IIT Bombay, awarded to Zele and Kanchetla for their work on DhruvaPro. The underlying research was also published in the IEEE Transactions on Microwave Theory and Techniques in March 2022, with Kanchetla as lead author.

MumbaiSemi presented at Bharat Innovates in Nice in June 2026, where it indicated it was seeking partnerships in communications and navigation. However, the company has not disclosed any customers, orders, or revenue figures, suggesting it is still in the early stages of commercialization.

What this means

Lazyfounder analysis — our interpretation, not reported fact.

MumbaiSemi’s DhruvaPro chip represents a potential shift for India’s hardware and semiconductor ecosystem. Until now, Indian device manufacturers relying on satellite navigation have had to depend on imported receiver chips, many of which do not support NavIC. DhruvaPro’s ability to work with multiple constellations—without requiring hardware changes—could simplify supply chains and reduce costs for local and regional players.

For founders and operators, this development underscores the growing capability of India’s semiconductor R&D to address niche but critical gaps. The fact that the chip was designed entirely by students at IIT Bombay also signals the maturation of academic research into commercially viable products. However, the absence of disclosed customers or revenue means the company’s success is far from guaranteed. How MumbaiSemi navigates partnerships, scaling, and market adoption will be a key test for similar deep-tech startups emerging from Indian institutions.

Key takeaways

• Founders and operators in India’s semiconductor and hardware space now have a local alternative for GNSS receiver chips, reducing reliance on non-Indian suppliers.
• The ability of DhruvaPro to support multiple satellite constellations without hardware changes could lower costs and simplify supply chains for device manufacturers.
• The lack of disclosed customers or revenue signals that MumbaiSemi is still in the early stages of commercialization, which may influence partnership or investment decisions.