Key Takeaways
- • Bengaluru-based AI chip startup Agrani is reportedly raising a $100 million round, double the $50 million it was planning just weeks earlier, according to people familiar with the matter cited by Moneycontrol.
- • Agrani is valued at around $300-350 million, more than eightfold its roughly $35 million valuation at its June 2025 seed round.
- • Groww co-founders' Stargazer fund, Google and HCLTech are reported to be joining existing investors Peak XV Partners and 360 One; Stargazer's investment would be its first from a $45-50 million fund.
- • Listed fintechs Paytm, Groww and PB Fintech reported 59-66% year-on-year rises in technology-related expenses in the September quarter as AI-driven compute costs climb, though longer-term cloud contracts have so far limited the immediate impact.
Summary
Agrani Labs, a Bengaluru-based chip maker founded by former Intel and AMD executives, is assembling a $100 million funding round, according to people familiar with the matter who spoke to Moneycontrol. The round is double the $50 million the company was targeting only a few weeks earlier, reflecting growing investor appetite for semiconductors and deeptech. Agrani is valued at around $300-350 million, a more than eightfold increase from the roughly $35 million valuation at its seed round in June 2025.
Groww co-founders' Stargazer fund, Google and HCLTech are reportedly looking to join the round. For Stargazer, which manages a $45-50 million fund, the deal would be its first investment. Peak XV Partners, an existing investor, and 360 One remain involved, as Moneycontrol reported in September. Agrani is building AI inference chips designed to work with Nvidia's CUDA software stack, which would let customers shift away from Nvidia hardware without abandoning the software ecosystem they already use. HCLTech's interest marks its second reported investment in an Indian startup this year, after AI company Sarvam.
The report also highlights a broader trend in which founders of consumer internet companies are backing deeptech ventures. Sachin Bansal invested early in electric two-wheeler maker Ather, Mukesh Bansal was an initial investor in Skyroot Aerospace, and Deepinder Goyal is building Temple and LAT Aerospace. Agrani would join a small group of Indian deeptech companies that have raised $100 million-plus rounds, alongside Sarvam, Pixxel and Skyroot.
Separately, rising AI-driven infrastructure costs are pressuring Indian fintechs. Paytm reported software, cloud and data centre expenses up 59% year-on-year to Rs 211 crore in Q2 FY27, Groww's cost to serve rose 66% to Rs 206 crore, and PB Fintech's internet costs increased 65% to Rs 71 crore. Upstox co-founder Shrini Viswanath said its overall data processing costs are 25-30% higher year-on-year. Companies expect the pressure to persist for six to twelve months, though longer-term contracts with Google Cloud and AWS have so far prevented a sharp spike. PhonePe co-founder Rahul Chari attributed the increases to compute, storage and memory costs rising as hyperscalers build capacity for AI training.
Groww co-founders' Stargazer fund, Google and HCLTech are reportedly looking to join the round. For Stargazer, which manages a $45-50 million fund, the deal would be its first investment. Peak XV Partners, an existing investor, and 360 One remain involved, as Moneycontrol reported in September. Agrani is building AI inference chips designed to work with Nvidia's CUDA software stack, which would let customers shift away from Nvidia hardware without abandoning the software ecosystem they already use. HCLTech's interest marks its second reported investment in an Indian startup this year, after AI company Sarvam.
The report also highlights a broader trend in which founders of consumer internet companies are backing deeptech ventures. Sachin Bansal invested early in electric two-wheeler maker Ather, Mukesh Bansal was an initial investor in Skyroot Aerospace, and Deepinder Goyal is building Temple and LAT Aerospace. Agrani would join a small group of Indian deeptech companies that have raised $100 million-plus rounds, alongside Sarvam, Pixxel and Skyroot.
Separately, rising AI-driven infrastructure costs are pressuring Indian fintechs. Paytm reported software, cloud and data centre expenses up 59% year-on-year to Rs 211 crore in Q2 FY27, Groww's cost to serve rose 66% to Rs 206 crore, and PB Fintech's internet costs increased 65% to Rs 71 crore. Upstox co-founder Shrini Viswanath said its overall data processing costs are 25-30% higher year-on-year. Companies expect the pressure to persist for six to twelve months, though longer-term contracts with Google Cloud and AWS have so far prevented a sharp spike. PhonePe co-founder Rahul Chari attributed the increases to compute, storage and memory costs rising as hyperscalers build capacity for AI training.
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