Singapore’s SixSense Raises $8.5M to Revolutionize Semiconductor Manufacturing with AI
A Singapore-based deep tech startup, SixSense, has successfully secured $8.5 million in Series A funding to expand its AI-driven platform designed to transform semiconductor manufacturing by enabling real-time chip defect detection and prediction on production lines. This latest funding round, led by Peak XV’s Surge (formerly Sequoia India & SEA), brings SixSense’s total capital raised to approximately $12 million, with additional investments from Alpha Intelligence Capital, FEBE, and others.
Addressing a Critical Challenge in Semiconductor Production
Founded in 2018 by engineers Akanksha Jagwani (CEO) and Avni Agrawal (CTO), SixSense focuses on a core issue faced by semiconductor factories: how to convert vast amounts of raw production data—ranging from defect images to equipment sensor signals—into actionable insights that prevent quality issues and enhance yield.
Despite the enormous data volume generated on fabrication floors, the founders noticed a striking absence of real-time intelligence. Jagwani’s extensive background includes manufacturing automation for major firms such as Hyundai Motors and GE, alongside product leadership at startups like Embibe. Meanwhile, Agrawal brings expertise from Visa, where she developed large-scale data analytics systems, some of which became trade secrets. Their shared passion for applying AI beyond fintech led them to explore various industries before settling on semiconductors.
Modernizing Inspection in a Precision-Driven Industry
Though semiconductor manufacturing is synonymous with precision, inspection remains largely manual and fragmented. After discussions with over 50 engineers, Agrawal told TechCrunch that it was clear the sector’s quality control methods were ripe for modernization.
“Fabs today are filled with dashboards, SPC charts, and inline inspection systems, but most only display data without further analysis,” Agrawal explained. “The burden of using it for decision-making still falls on engineers: [they must] spot patterns, investigate anomalies, and trace root causes. That’s time-consuming, subjective, and doesn’t scale well with increasing process complexity.”
SixSense’s AI platform empowers process engineers with early warnings to tackle defects before they escalate, offering features like defect detection, root cause analysis, and failure prediction.
AI for Engineers — No Coding Required
Uniquely, SixSense’s solution is tailored specifically for process engineers rather than data scientists. “Process engineers can fine-tune models using their own fab data, deploy them in under two days, and trust the results — all without writing a single line of code,” Agrawal said. “That’s what makes the platform both powerful and practical.”
Competitive Landscape and Industry Adoption
SixSense competes with in-house engineering teams utilizing tools such as Cognex and Halcon, AI-integrated inspection equipment manufacturers, and startups like Landing.ai and Robovision.
The platform is already deployed by major semiconductor manufacturers including GlobalFoundries and JCET, having processed over 100 million chips. Reported customer benefits include production cycles that are up to 30% faster, a 1-2% increase in yield, and a 90% reduction in manual inspection labor. Notably, the system supports inspection devices that cover over 60% of the global market.
“Our target customers are large-scale chipmakers — including foundries, outsourced semiconductor assembly and test providers (OSATs), and integrated device manufacturers (IDMs),” Agrawal said. “We’re already working with fabs in Singapore, Malaysia, Taiwan, and Israel, and are now expanding into the U.S.”
Capitalizing on Geopolitical Shifts and Manufacturing Growth
The shifting geopolitical landscape, particularly the tensions between the U.S. and China, is driving a global reconfiguration of semiconductor production with new manufacturing investments in regions such as Malaysia, Singapore, Vietnam, India, and the U.S.
“We’re seeing fabs and OSATs expand aggressively in Malaysia, Singapore, Vietnam, India, and the U.S. — and that’s a tailwind for us. Why? Because we’re already based in the region, and many of these new facilities are starting fresh — without legacy systems weighing them down. That makes them far more open to AI-native approaches like ours from day one,” Agrawal told TechCrunch.
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