Edgehax (formerly Bharat Pi), an emerging Edge AI hardware startup from Bengaluru, has secured ₹1.39 crore (approx $157,736) in seed funding led by Inflection Point Ventures (IPV). The round marks a crucial step in the company’s vision to democratize access to modular, high-performance computing platforms designed for the next wave of AI innovation.

Building the Backbone of Edge AI

Founded by Prabhu Stavarmath and Savitri Patil in 2025, Edgehax has developed a full-stack Edge AI hardware solution - a single-board platform integrating compute, connectivity, and storage into one seamless package. This platform enables rapid prototyping, pre-sales demos, and deployment-ready applications, providing startups and enterprises with the ability to innovate without relying on fragile global supply chains.

The startup has already attracted adoption from more than 150 startups, OEMs, and enterprises across industries. Its developer kits have reached over 100,000 students and faculty across 30 universities and IITs, helping fuel the next generation of hardware developers. Applications range from industrial gateways and drones to humanoid robots, defense technologies, autonomous vehicles, and 5G connectivity modules.

It’s here that founders can spot a deeper lesson: Edgehax isn’t just building boards - it’s building believers. Hardware startups often struggle because they treat product shipments as the end goal. Edgehax flipped that script by embedding itself into education and ecosystem development, ensuring their platform becomes part of the learning journey of students and the prototyping arsenal of startups. This strategy shows that in hardware - where margins are tight and customer switching costs are high - the real defensibility comes from creating an ecosystem that grows with your users. Startups that manage to align their product with learning, community, and trust effectively create their own market gravity.

Strategic Acceleration Through National Programs

Edgehax has been bolstered by government-backed innovation initiatives such as STPI’s Next Generation Incubation Scheme (NGIS), which supports ventures from Tier 2 and 3 cities. It has also won the NXP Silicon Seeds Startup Program 2025 and the MeitY Bhashini Startup Velocity 1.0 award, adding validation and credibility to its platform. By integrating into these ecosystems, Edgehax has positioned itself as a national champion for “Make in India” and “Digital India.”

Such recognition has been key to Edgehax’s early traction. Instead of waiting to scale before approaching institutions, the startup leaned on incubation schemes and national programs to build legitimacy early. For founders, this demonstrates that external scaffolding - through government or corporate accelerators - can compress trust-building cycles that otherwise take years.

Competing on Local Strengths

Edgehax enters a global market where it faces stiff competition from platforms like NVIDIA Jetson, Qualcomm’s RB5, Google Coral, and Raspberry Pi. Its edge lies in being made in India, with guaranteed local manufacturing, supply chain assurance, and on-ground technical support. In a world hyper-aware of geopolitical risk and component shortages, this is a powerful differentiator.

By focusing on reliability and long-term availability, Edgehax is appealing to enterprises that need certainty as much as they need innovation. And with India pushing for greater technological self-reliance, the startup is aligning itself with national priorities while simultaneously preparing for international expansion.

Global Ambitions with Local Roots

The fresh seed capital will allow Edgehax to scale its manufacturing capacity, invest in R&D, and expand its footprint into Singapore, the U.S., and Europe. Its vision is ambitious: to empower 100 million developers globally by 2029, turning its platform into a foundational tool for the Edge AI era.

By weaving together product, ecosystem, and policy alignment, Edgehax is building more than a startup. It’s building a blueprint for how emerging-market hardware ventures can punch above their weight globally.

The Road Ahead

With IPV’s backing, Edgehax is well positioned to:

• Expand production to meet global demand
  
• Strengthen platform capabilities with integrated software and cloud services
  
• Deepen developer engagement through university partnerships
  
• Build international partnerships to accelerate adoption
  

In an industry where many startups struggle to survive supply chain volatility and global competition, Edgehax’s model - rooted in education, national programs, and ecosystem strategy - shows how hardware innovation can be sustainable, scalable, and globally competitive.