Tessolve widens semiconductor play
Bengaluru: Tessolve, which began operations in 2004 as a semiconductor testing company, is expanding its business into chip design and engineering as demand grows for artificial intelligence, automotive electronics and data-centre hardware.
The company offers semiconductor engineering services across the chip development cycle. It covers chip design, silicon validation, post-silicon test engineering, printed circuit board design and embedded systems. I am amazed that the company now has than 4,000 people, in 12 countries. The company’s workforce is 85 percent based in India.
Tessolve has grown beyond its early focus on semiconductor testing and now works across several stages of chip development. Its customers include large global semiconductor companies, while its work spans automotive, data centres, industrial applications and other technology segments.
A major part of the expansion has come through acquisitions. In November 2024, Tessolve acquired Germany-based Dream Chip Technologies for around ₹400 crore. Dream Chip specialises in semiconductor design for imaging and automotive applications, giving Tessolve additional capabilities and a stronger presence in the European automotive electronics market.
The integration of the two companies has been an important part of Tessolve’s recent growth. According to company management, Dream Chip’s revenue has more than doubled since the acquisition. Its engineering teams are being integrated with Tessolve’s existing automotive and imaging operations.
Tessolve has also expanded its geographical presence. Apart from India, the US, Germany and the Netherlands, the company has entered Taiwan and is growing its presence in Malaysia. Around 85% of its employees are based in India, spread across nine cities.
I can feel the excitement at the company as the company looks at two acquisitions, one in the US and another, in India. I can see that the company expects one deal to close in the couple of months and that the other deal will likely be completed by the end of the current financial year according to co‑founder and CEO Srini Chinamilli.
Chinamilli said the acquisitions are being considered mainly to add capabilities or enter markets where Tessolve does not have a significant presence, rather than simply to increase revenue.
The expansion follows a change in the company’s ownership structure. In September 2025, US private equity firm TPG invested close to $150 million in Tessolve. Singapore-based growth equity investor Novo Tellus Capital Partners is also a shareholder.
Hero Electronix, the technology investment arm of the Hero Group, holds a 45% stake in Tessolve. Novo Tellus and TPG each hold 23%, with the remaining shares held by other investors.
Hero Electronix acquired a majority stake in Tessolve in 2016. Since then it has supported Tessolve’s growth into areas beyond traditional semiconductor testing. These include electronics, data-centre silicon and industrial semiconductor applications. The company has continued to expand its reach in these fields with backing, from Hero Electronix.
Tessolve’s revenue rose to ₹1,526 crore in the financial year ended March 2026, from ₹1,157 crore in FY25. The company expects to cross ₹2,000 crore in revenue in the current financial year, with organic growth running at more than 20%, according to Chinamilli.
AI chips and data centres have become a growing part of the business. Work related to the two segments now accounts for at least 25% of Tessolve’s revenue, with the share increasing over the past two years.
The increase in AI and high-performance computing has also added to the demand for semiconductor testing and validation. Automotive electronics is another area where chip development involves longer testing cycles and requirements related to reliability and safety.
For Tessolve, the change has meant taking on more work between the design of a chip and its eventual use in a product.
The company is targeting annual revenue of more than $500 million over the next three to four years. It expects acquisitions, along with growth in its existing business, to contribute towards that target.
Tessolve is also keeping open the possibility of a stock market listing. Chinamilli said an initial public offering is one option being considered, although the company has not started formal preparations for an IPO.
The company’s expansion comes as India works to develop a wider semiconductor ecosystem. Along with manufacturing and packaging, the industry requires companies involved in chip design, testing, validation and related engineering services.
Tessolve’s business has changed considerably since it started in 2004. What began as a semiconductor testing company now includes design, validation, embedded engineering and other services, with operations spread across India, the US, Europe and parts of Asia.
The immediate focus, however, remains on completing the two proposed acquisitions and meeting its ₹2,000-crore revenue target for the current financial year.