FabNest.com

Match Indian chip designs to local fabs in minutes

Score: 7.6/10IndiaMedium BuildReady to Spawn
Brand Colors

The Opportunity

Problem

Indian semiconductor startups must overcome severe infrastructure, fabrication, and ecosystem gaps to build world-class chips domestically

Solution

FabNest solves severe fabrication and ecosystem gaps by intelligently matching your HDL/GDSII designs to compatible Indian foundries based on process node, volume, and timeline. It automates design-rule checks against local PDKs and provides end-to-end workflow visibility from quote to tapeout. Startups can now prototype domestically without the traditional 9-18 month delays and opaque supplier hunting.

Target Audience

Founders and technical leads at early-stage Indian semiconductor startups (chip design/IP firms)

Differentiator

Real-time capacity data feeds from ISM-approved Indian fabs combined with automated DFM rulesets specifically tuned for SCL, CG Power, and Tata Electronics process nodes.

Brand Voice

supportive

Features

Secure Design Upload

must-have30h

Drag-and-drop upload of Verilog, VHDL, and GDSII with AES-256 encryption and virus scanning

Intelligent Fab Matcher

must-have55h

Rule + ML engine that scores and ranks foundries using 25 technical and commercial parameters

Automated DFM Checker

must-have65h

Runs OpenROAD-based DRC/LVS tailored to Indian 180nm-28nm nodes with one-click reports

Project Dashboard

must-have35h

Live Gantt-style tracking of tapeout milestones, foundry communication, and deliverables

RFQ & Quote Portal

must-have28h

Standardized request-for-quote workflow with digital negotiation and e-signature

ISM Compliance Engine

must-have42h

Automatic eligibility checker and document generator for DLI, SPECS, and India Semiconductor Mission incentives

Production Cost Estimator

nice-to-have25h

Predicts full landed cost including packaging, testing, and logistics

Foundry Chat & Collaboration

nice-to-have32h

Secure in-platform messaging and file sharing with foundry engineers

Post-Silicon Test Templates

nice-to-have38h

Library of test plans and partner introductions for validation

Total Build Time: 350 hours

Database Schema

organizations

ColumnTypeNullable
iduuidNo
nametextNo
domaintextYes
tech_nodestextYes
ism_registeredboolNo
created_attimestampNo

Relationships:

  • users reference organizations via org_id
  • projects reference organizations

users

ColumnTypeNullable
iduuidNo
org_iduuidNo
emailtextNo
nametextYes
roletextYes
created_attimestampNo

Relationships:

  • foreign key to organizations

projects

ColumnTypeNullable
iduuidNo
org_iduuidNo
nametextNo
node_nmintYes
target_volumeintYes
statustextNo
design_filestextYes
created_attimestampNo

Relationships:

  • belongs to organizations
  • has many matches

foundries

ColumnTypeNullable
iduuidNo
nametextNo
locationtextNo
nodes_supportedtextYes
current_capacityintYes
ism_approvedboolNo

Relationships:

  • has many matches

matches

ColumnTypeNullable
iduuidNo
project_iduuidNo
foundry_iduuidNo
scoreintNo
quoted_priceintYes
statustextNo
created_attimestampNo

Relationships:

  • foreign keys to projects and foundries

API Endpoints

POST
/api/projects

Create project and trigger initial DFM scan

🔒 Auth Required
GET
/api/matches

Retrieve ranked foundry matches for a project

🔒 Auth Required
POST
/api/quotes/request

Send RFQ to selected foundries

🔒 Auth Required
POST
/api/compliance/ism

Run incentive eligibility analysis

🔒 Auth Required
POST
/api/webhook/razorpay

Process subscription and deposit payments

Tech Stack

Frontend
Next.js 14 + TypeScript + Tailwind + shadcn/ui
Backend
Next.js Route Handlers + tRPC
Database
PostgreSQL
Auth
Clerk
Payments
Razorpay
Hosting
Vercel
Additional Tools
PrismaAWS S3OpenROADReplicate (for matching)

Build Timeline

Week 1: Foundation and auth

38h
  • Database schema + Prisma models
  • Clerk auth integration
  • Landing page with waitlist

Week 2: Core project and file handling

52h
  • Project CRUD + S3 upload
  • Dashboard UI
  • Basic DFM scanner stub

Week 3: Matching engine

58h
  • Matching algorithm + seeding of 8 Indian foundries
  • Match UI cards
  • DFM report generator

Week 4: Commerce and compliance

48h
  • RFQ system
  • ISM compliance module
  • Razorpay integration

Week 5: Polish and beta readiness

42h
  • Notification system
  • Onboarding flows
  • Internal testing with synthetic data
Total Timeline: 5 weeks • 280 hours

Pricing Tiers

Starter

$0/mo

Maximum 180nm node only

  • 2 projects/month
  • Basic matching
  • Community forum

Pro

$35/mo

None

  • Unlimited projects
  • Full DFM suite
  • ISM compliance reports
  • Priority support
  • All process nodes

Enterprise

$149/mo

Custom volume

  • Everything in Pro
  • Dedicated success manager
  • Custom PDK integration
  • SLA guarantees
  • On-premise option

Revenue Projections

MonthUsersConversionMRRARR
Month 19511%$366$4,392
Month 668019%$4,529$54,348

Unit Economics

$72
CAC
$1180
LTV
5%
Churn
81%
Margin
LTV:CAC Ratio: 16.4xExcellent!

Landing Page Copy

Finally — Fab in India Without the Pain

FabNest matches your design to real Indian foundry capacity, runs local DFM checks, and handles ISM paperwork automatically.

Feature Highlights

Real Indian foundry capacity data
Automated DFM for local nodes
ISM grant automation
Secure end-to-end workflow
Built by chip designers for chip designers

Social Proof (Placeholders)

"'Got our 65nm prototype taped out at SCL in 11 weeks instead of 8 months' — CTO, NavIC Semiconductor"
"'The compliance module got us DLI approval in 3 weeks' — CEO, PowerIC Labs"

First Three Customers

1. Reach out to 40 design teams that received DLI approval in 2023-24 using Tracxn and LinkedIn Sales Navigator with a personalized 15-minute fab-gap audit. 2. Offer 12 months free Pro to the first 8 startups that agree to be case studies. 3. Sponsor a booth/session at VLSI Design Conference 2025 and ISA Vision Summit to demo live matching with real Indian foundry data.

Launch Channels

ProductHuntLinkedIn (Semiconductor India groups)SEMICON IndiaVLSI Society of India mailing listr/chipdesign

SEO Keywords

indian semiconductor foundry matchingchip design to fabrication indiaISM DLI compliance toolDFM checker for indian fabstapeout management platform

Competitive Analysis

Enterprise licensing
Strength

Broad component database

Weakness

No real-time Indian fab capacity or ISM integration

Our Advantage

Hyper-focused on India with live foundry data feeds

Cadence Cerebrus

https://cadence.com
High six figures
Strength

Powerful EDA tools

Weakness

No supply-chain or government scheme automation

Our Advantage

Complete design-to-fab workflow at 1/50th the cost

🏰 Moat Strategy

Network effects from growing dataset of successful Indian tapeouts that continuously improves the matching algorithm. Exclusive data-sharing agreements with emerging Indian OSATs and foundries create defensibility.

⏰ Why Now?

Multiple new Indian fabs are scheduled to come online between 2025-2027 under the $10B ISM program. Design teams urgently need tools that speak the local ecosystem language right now.

Risks & Mitigation

markethigh severity

Engineers reluctant to trust cloud platform with proprietary IP

Mitigation

SOC2 Type II, customer-controlled encryption keys, and on-premise deployment option for Enterprise tier

technicalmedium severity

Inaccurate DFM rules leading to respins

Mitigation

Partner with ex-SCL engineers as advisors and keep human gate before final tapeout recommendation

executionmedium severity

Difficulty seeding accurate real-time capacity data from foundries

Mitigation

Start with publicly available tender data and government reports, then build relationships via ISM events

Validation Roadmap

pre-build18 days

Interview 20 technical leads from DLI-approved startups

Success: ≥14 confirm they would pay ≥$35/mo for the solution

mvp42 days

Private beta with 6 real designs and 5 seeded foundries

Success: At least 4 successful matches completed with positive feedback

launch30 days

Public launch on ProductHunt + LinkedIn campaign

Success: ≥70 signups and ≥9 paid conversions in first 30 days

Pivot Options

  • Become a commission-based fab brokerage taking 8-12% of tapeout value
  • Expand into licensed commercial EDA tool orchestration
  • Focus exclusively on OSAT and packaging marketplace

Quick Stats

Build Time
280h
Target MRR (6 mo)
$7,200
Market Size
$42.0M
Features
9
Database Tables
5
API Endpoints
5