My guest in today’s episode is GS Madhusudan, Co-Founder and CEO of Incore Semiconductors, a company at the forefront of processor IP innovation in India. With nearly four decades of experience in the technology sector, Madhusudan has played a significant role in shaping India's semiconductor landscape.

Before co-founding Incore in 2018, he managed the Shakti processor project at IIT Madras, which helped build foundational expertise for commercial processor design in the country.

Incore Semiconductors, incubated at the institute, emerged from this ecosystem, focusing on RISC-V architecture to offer customisable processor IP for applications ranging from consumer electronics to automotive and industrial settings.

Under Madhusudan's leadership, Incore is combining technical advancement with practical business strategies, offering solutions for secure, fault-tolerant, and AI-optimised processors. The company has developed a flexible SOC generator platform and collaborates with multiple foundries, supporting customers from IP licensing to product tape-out.

Incore is backed by the well-known VC firm Peak XV Partners.

Madhusudan remains an active advisor to government agencies. He emphasises the importance of talent development, marketing and product management, and practical deployment in India's quest for a stronger presence in the global semiconductor market.

Some chapters

(00:00) Building India's Semiconductor Industry

(03:04) The Shakti Project and InCore's Foundation

(06:09) Understanding RISC-V Architecture

(08:54) Evolving Beyond Proprietary Processes

(11:46) The Role of Marketing and Product Management

(14:43) India's Semiconductor Opportunities

(18:07) Challenges in the Semiconductor Market

(20:52) The Importance of Talent Development

(23:59) Future Prospects for Indian Semiconductor Startups

(27:03) Navigating the Chip Business Landscape

(29:44) Advice for Aspiring Semiconductor Professionals

Coming up, in the next episode of In Conversation, G S Madhusudan, Co-Founder and CEO of InCore Semiconductors, gives us a sense of how far India's chip ecosystem has come, and how quickly it's evolving. Catch the full conversation on Friday, Aug. 22nd, right here or wherever you get your podcasts. Here's a one-minute preview.

In this episode, I’m joined by Abhijit Bhutey and Vishal Reddy, co-founders of Inbound Aerospace, a startup incubated at IIT Madras. The discussion covers the origins of their journey—from an academic collaboration focused on microgravity research to building a company designed for commercial space experimentation.

They started simply with how the idea came to Arvind IB, their fellow founder, when as a PhD student at IIT Madras, he was exploring microgravity through drop tower experiments. The idea became a startup when Aravind was joined by Vishal, whose background includes graduate studies in the United States, and Abhijit, a former pilot with the Indian Navy who aspired to space entrepreneurship.

In this conversation they explain the challenges and opportunities in creating usable microgravity platforms, detailing Inbound Aerospace’s mission to develop a reusable spacecraft that will carry research projects to low earth orbit and bring experiments back safely to earth.

Abhijit and Vishal give us insights into microgravity's usefulness in biotech, materials science, and semiconductors, and explain how their vehicle is being designed for efficient re-entry and autonomous landing. The founders also share early milestones, including team building, subsystem testing, and initial funding, and reflect on broader trends and gaps in the Indian space-tech ecosystem.