Technology company Cyient has signed an MoU with the Indian Institute of Technology Hyderabad (IITH) and start-up WiSig Networks to volume produce a 5G NB-IoT SoC in India.

Indian firm Cyient has partnered with IITH and WiSig Networks, a start-up incubated at IITH, to enable volume production of the Koala NB-IoT SoC.

The MoU between them is aligned with MEITY’s (Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology, India) goals of building a vibrant semiconductor design and innovation ecosystem to enable the emergence of India as a global hub for electronics manufacturing and design.

IITH and WiSig developed the Koala chip, and Cyient enabled the IC design for this project. Volume production includes the development of a package, production test suitable for volume production, organisation of silicon fabrication, volume testing of the IC, and the management of supplying the chip.

NB-IoT enables low-bit rate IoT applications with long-range and device battery life up to ten years. Smart meters, M2M connectivity, Industry 4.0, sensor connectivity, asset tracking, digital healthcare and other applications could benefit by using this NB-IoT chip.

“We are proud to be part of this momentous project that puts India on the map on semiconductor design innovation,” said Krishna Bodanapu, CEO of Cyient. “We started with enabling the design of India’s first indigenously developed NB-IoT SoC chip with partners IITH and WiSig Networks. We are excited to join hands with them towards commercialising this 5G chip in the country. I thank these partners and MEITY for their trust in our expertise. “

BS Murty, director of the IITH, added: “I thank DoT and MEITY for enabling the design of an indigenously developed chip to reach the mass production stage. This is a major milestone in India’s 5G fabless chip design space journey. I am also happy that an IITH-incubated start-up WiSig is partnering with an Indian MNC Cyient that showcases the success of translational research by IITH, which is crucial for realising an Atmanirbhar Bharat [self-reliant India].”

Established in 1991, Cyient is a consulting-led, industry-centric technology company.

WiSig Networks is a 5G technology innovator creating product intellectual properties that are licensed to semiconductor and telecoms equipment manufacturers. It has filed more than 100 patents out of which many are part of 5G standard essential patents. The company was incubated in 2016 at Hyderabad with an intention to develop and commercialise 5G communication technologies and the IoT. It has a team of more than fifty researchers and engineers.

The IITH is one of the eight IITs established by the Indian government in 2008. It has more than 260 full-time faculty, around 3900 students, nearly 200 laboratories, and five research and entrepreneurship centres. The institute has a strong research focus with about Rs575 crore of sanctioned research funding, with PhD scholars accounting for about 30% of total student strength. IITH has to its credit more than 7200 research publications, 210 patent disclosures, 1600 sponsored and consultancy projects, and about 100 start-ups.