MumbaiSemi aims to become a global supplier of high-quality RF chips

An RF chip handles the radio-frequency part of a satellite-navigation receiver. It sits between the antenna and the receiver’s processor. Its job matters because satellite signals arrive weak and mixed with unwanted signals. The chip prepares them for digital processing.

The antenna first captures high-frequency signals from navigation satellites. The RF chip filters unwanted signals, amplifies the useful ones, shifts them to a lower frequency, and converts them into binary data. The processor then decodes that data to determine the receiver’s position, velocity, and time.

MumbaiSemi’s DhruvaPro performs this front-end role and is designed to work across different navigation frequency bands. The company says it can support NavIC, GPS, Galileo, GLONASS, and BeiDou. This adaptable design could help receiver makers build or upgrade equipment without depending as heavily on imported RF modules.

DhruvaPro is MumbaiSemi’s programmable RF chip for the front end of navigation receivers. It prepares satellite signals before a receiver’s processor decodes them. The design matters because navigation equipment often needs to support different signal bands and satellite systems, while conventional chips are usually tied to specific frequencies.

For example, DhruvaPro can be configured for NavIC, GPS, Galileo, GLONASS, and BeiDou. MumbaiSemi says it can also be reprogrammed for new frequency bands. In practice, the same RF hardware could adapt as a receiver’s requirements change, rather than requiring a completely different chip for each band.

MumbaiSemi developed the technology through research at IIT Bombay and two successful silicon iterations. The company has completed multiple pilots but remains pre-revenue. It is now working to make the chip easier for receiver-module manufacturers to integrate into products used in navigation and tracking.

DhruvaPro is designed to process signals from five satellite-navigation systems. They are NavIC, GPS, Galileo, GLONASS, and BeiDou. This gives the chip a broad geographic and technical reach, matching MumbaiSemi’s aim of supplying customers beyond India.

The chip works at the receiver’s radio-frequency front end. It filters and prepares signals from different navigation systems before sending digitized data to a processor. MumbaiSemi says the chip can also be programmed for different frequency bands. That lets one receiver support multiple systems without replacing its RF hardware.

The company began with a project focused on creating an RF chip for NavIC. After successful research and silicon testing at IIT Bombay, the team expanded the design to global systems. MumbaiSemi has completed multiple pilots and plans to pursue wider commercial opportunities, although it is currently pre-revenue.

NavIC is India’s own satellite-navigation system, but its availability does not automatically provide all the hardware needed to use its signals. Receivers require RF components and other electronics to capture, filter, convert, and digitize those signals. The article says much of this hardware is still imported.

MumbaiSemi is addressing that gap with DhruvaPro, an indigenous RF chip designed for navigation-receiver front ends. The chip handles weak satellite signals and can be configured for NavIC as well as other systems. It is intended to integrate with processors and receiver modules used by customers.

This matters for India’s semiconductor ecosystem. MumbaiSemi operates from IIT Bombay’s SINE incubator and says domestic capability is also needed in packaging, system integration, and fabrication. By offering an adaptable local alternative, the startup aims to help receiver manufacturers upgrade equipment and reduce reliance on imported modules.

When an RF chip can be reprogrammed, a navigation receiver can adapt to a new frequency band without swapping out the chip. This matters because conventional chips are often locked to one particular navigation frequency band. Replacing hardware can make upgrades more difficult, especially when customers use large fleets or equipment with long deployment cycles.

MumbaiSemi says DhruvaPro can be programmed to any frequency band and changed on the fly. A receiver could therefore support different satellite-navigation signals, or adapt to a new band, while retaining the same RF component. The processor still receives digitized data for decoding.

The result is a more flexible receiver architecture. MumbaiSemi says this could let manufacturers upgrade hardware more easily and use multiple navigation systems without replacing the RF chip. The company is focusing on integration because customers often want compatible modules that plug into existing equipment.

Vehicle-tracking, freight, and logistics customers often deploy complete systems, not isolated electronic components. Their equipment needs to receive satellite signals, process them digitally, and connect with the rest of the tracking device. A standalone RF chip does only the front-end signal work, so it may not plug directly into existing systems.

The article says these customers require receiver modules containing both RF and digital baseband chips, along with specific interfaces. The RF section prepares the satellite signals, while the digital section handles further processing before navigation data is used. Customers also ask for compatible modules that can replace existing ones directly.

This creates a practical integration challenge for MumbaiSemi. The startup is simplifying its system architecture so receiver-module manufacturers can use DhruvaPro more easily. It has completed multiple pilots and expects revenue soon, but remains pre-revenue while working toward products that fit long deployment cycles.

Satellite-navigation processing begins when an antenna picks up weak, high-frequency signals from satellites. Those signals also contain unwanted interference and are not yet ready for the receiver’s processor. The RF chip is the front-end component that prepares them for digital processing.

It filters out unwanted signals, amplifies the useful signals, down-converts them to a more manageable frequency, and digitizes them. The resulting binary data then moves to the receiver’s processor. That processor decodes the navigation information and calculates the receiver’s position, velocity, and time.

DhruvaPro is designed to perform this chain across multiple satellite-navigation systems and frequency bands. MumbaiSemi says it can work with any processor and support NavIC, GPS, Galileo, GLONASS, and BeiDou. Its reprogrammability could let receiver makers adapt the same RF hardware instead of replacing it when requirements change.