Aheesa Digital Innovations has achieved a significant milestone in India’s semiconductor journey with the tape-out of VIHAAN-I, the country’s first domestically designed RISC-V-based broadband networking system-on-chip (SoC).
This development marks a breakthrough in India’s efforts to build indigenous solutions for optical fibre access networks, which are critical for delivering last-mile connectivity to homes and offices.
The VIHAAN-I chip is designed for gigabit passive optical network (GPON) and Ethernet passive optical network (EPON) optical network terminal applications. It will be released as part of Aheesa’s Seshnag platform, with manufacturing being undertaken by United Microelectronics Corporation (UMC).
According to Aheesa founder and CEO Sridharan Mani, the SoC represents the first RISC-V-based broadband access chip to be fully designed and developed in India. Built on a 28-nanometre process, VIHAAN-I integrates compute, broadband access, and system control on a single chip, and is powered by the CDAC Vega processor core based on the RISC-V architecture.
Aheesa Digital Innovations was founded in 2021 by Mani and a team of industry veterans with decades of experience in firmware, semiconductors, and telecom. The company has benefited from India’s design-linked incentive scheme, approved in 2023, and has collaborated with government-backed institutions such as the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, the India Semiconductor Mission, and the Centre for Development of Advanced Computing.
Mani explained that in typical home or office fibre deployments, the chips inside customer premises equipment are usually imported. VIHAAN-I seeks to replace these foreign components with a fully Indian-designed solution.
The SoC supports passive optical network architectures widely used in fibre-to-the-home and fibre-to-the-office deployments. It interfaces with optical line terminals (OLTs) at telecom operator facilities, converting optical signals into Ethernet and wireless data for end users. A single OLT can support up to 128 optical network units, each of which can be built using the VIHAAN-I chip alongside the Seshnag reference hardware platform. Mani emphasised that the SoC’s differentiation lies in its open instruction set architecture, support for recent Linux kernels, and modern memory and interface technologies compared with legacy access devices.
Security was a key driver in choosing an Indian-developed RISC-V core. Mani noted that networking is fundamentally about security, and using a domestic core ensures trust in every component. Aheesa evaluated both the Vega and Shakti cores, ultimately selecting Vega due to familiarity, though both were deemed suitable for networking applications.
At the hardware level, VIHAAN-I supports DDR4 memory and interfaces for SPI NOR flash, embedded multimedia card storage, and SD or microSD cards. For broadband access, it integrates an xPON interface and supports multiple Ethernet standards, including 10BASE-TE, 100BASE-TX, 100BASE-FX, and 1000BASE-T. The chip also includes multi-port Gigabit Ethernet and direct optical fibre connectivity.
Expansion capabilities are provided through a four-lane PCIe interface with support for M.2 and mini-PCIe connectivity, alongside integrated PCIe and USB interfaces. Peripheral interfaces include multiple I²C controllers, synchronous serial port interfaces, and support for devices such as EEPROMs and sensors.
Native voice support is integrated, including a plain old telephone service interface and a dedicated voice path for access gateways. Standard bring-up and debug interfaces are included for validation and deployment.
The SoC implements GPON and EPON protocols along with standard networking functions such as Ethernet switching, routing, firewall services, VPNs, DHCP, and DNS. It also supports optional fifth-generation cellular backhaul for redundancy, ensuring connectivity even if fibre links are disrupted. Mani confirmed that VIHAAN-I has undergone functional verification, system-level validation, FPGA testing, and interoperability trials with industry-standard OLTs, with public demonstrations already conducted.
In terms of intellectual property, Mani revealed that about 60% of the SoC comprises licensed components such as memory controllers and interface blocks, while the remaining 40%—including GPON and EPON implementations, network hardware accelerators, and cybersecurity functions—was developed internally. Only a handful of companies globally have achieved complete GPON and EPON access SoCs with integrated cryptographic functionality, placing Aheesa in an exclusive category.
Commercially, Aheesa plans to offer VIHAAN-I as merchant silicon, targeting OEMs, ODMs, system integrators, and distributors supplying access devices to telecom operators. Customers can license the chip, adopt the Seshnag reference platform, or procure finished end products, with options for full white labelling and licensing arrangements.
Mani explained that this tape-out is the first in a family of networking SoCs, with a roadmap extending to 2032. Future versions will support higher-speed optical standards such as 10-gigabit passive optical networks, Wi-Fi 7 integration, and potentially AI accelerators for edge traffic analysis.
Mani highlighted the importance of AI in detecting abnormal traffic patterns at the edge, underscoring the company’s vision for advanced network intelligence. He also stressed that while building technology for India is special, Aheesa’s long-term ambition is to take its broadband access platform global, positioning India as a credible player in the international semiconductor and networking markets.
Agencies
