SixSense, a Singapore-based deep tech startup, has secured $8.5 million in Series A funding to expand its AI platform revolutionizing semiconductor manufacturing. Founded by Akanksha Jagwani and Avni Agrawal, the company addresses the challenge of turning massive production data into actionable insights. Their AI-powered solution provides real-time analysis, early warnings, and yield improvements, reducing manual inspection work by 90%. Already deployed at major manufacturers like GlobalFoundries, SixSense has processed over 100 million chips. The funding will fuel expansion into the U.S. market, capitalizing on industry realignment and new facility construction. With its focus on accessibility for process engineers, SixSense is well-positioned to transform semiconductor production in an increasingly AI-driven world.
In an industry dominated by complex technical challenges and traditionally male leadership, SixSense is breaking new ground. The Singapore-based deep tech startup, founded by engineers Akanksha Jagwani (CEO) and Avni Agrawal (CTO), has secured $8.5 million in Series A funding to expand its innovative AI platform that’s transforming semiconductor manufacturing. This latest investment brings SixSense’s total funding to approximately $12 million, highlighting growing confidence in their approach to solving critical industry problems.
At its core, SixSense addresses a fundamental challenge in semiconductor fabrication: the massive volume of raw production data generated daily that rarely translates into actionable insights. Despite the semiconductor industry’s reputation for precision and cutting-edge technology, inspection processes have remained surprisingly manual and fragmented. After interviewing more than 50 engineers across the sector, Jagwani and Agrawal discovered that quality control engineers were drowning in data displayed on dashboards and Statistical Process Control (SPC) charts without meaningful analysis, forcing them to manually spot patterns, investigate anomalies, and trace root causes.
The SixSense platform takes a radically different approach. Their AI-powered solution converts raw production data—from defect images to equipment signals—into real-time insights that help manufacturers prevent quality issues and improve yield. What makes their technology particularly valuable is its ability to provide early warnings about potential problems before they escalate, combining sophisticated defect detection, root cause analysis, and failure prediction capabilities.
Jagwani brings deep expertise in manufacturing, quality control, and software automation from her experience building automation solutions for major manufacturers like Hyundai Motor Group and General Electric, as well as leading product development at startups. Agrawal complements this with her technical background from Visa, where she built large-scale data analytics systems that were later protected as trade secrets. Her mathematical acumen and coding skills have been crucial in applying AI to traditional manufacturing processes.
What sets SixSense apart from competitors is its focus on accessibility 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 explained. This practical approach removes significant barriers to implementation, making advanced AI accessible to the professionals who understand semiconductor manufacturing best.
The impact has been substantial. SixSense’s platform is already deployed at major semiconductor manufacturers including GlobalFoundries and JCET, with more than 100 million chips processed through their system to date. Customers report impressive results: production cycles accelerated by up to 30%, yield improvements of 1-2% (significant in an industry where small yield improvements translate to millions in savings), and a remarkable 90% reduction in manual inspection work. Furthermore, the system is compatible with inspection equipment covering over 60% of the global market, making integration relatively seamless.
The latest funding round was led by Peak XV’s Surge (formerly Sequoia India & SEA), with participation from Alpha Intelligence Capital, FEBE Ventures, and other investors. This capital will fuel SixSense’s expansion plans, particularly into the United States market, where semiconductor manufacturing is seeing renewed investment and focus due to supply chain concerns and national security considerations.
The timing couldn’t be better for SixSense. Current geopolitical tensions between the United States and China are reshaping semiconductor manufacturing geography, with new facilities being planned or constructed in Malaysia, Singapore, Vietnam, India, and the U.S. This industry realignment creates unique opportunities for SixSense, as new fabrication facilities are more likely to adopt AI-native approaches from the outset, without legacy systems slowing implementation.
“We’re seeing fabs and OSATs expand aggressively in Malaysia, Singapore, Vietnam, India, and the U.S.—and that’s a tailwind for us,” Agrawal noted. “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.”
The semiconductor industry’s competitive landscape includes in-house engineering teams using tools like Cognex and MVTec HALCON, inspection equipment manufacturers integrating AI into their systems, and startups such as Landing AI and Robovision. However, SixSense’s focus on creating an accessible platform specifically designed for process engineers differentiates them in a market that increasingly values both technical sophistication and ease of implementation.
As global chip demand continues to grow, driven by advances in artificial intelligence, electric vehicles, and an increasingly connected world, manufacturers face mounting pressure to improve yields while reducing costs. SixSense’s technology arrives at a critical juncture for the industry, promising to transform the fundamental processes that underpin modern semiconductor production.
With this new funding and growing customer base, SixSense is positioned to expand its platform’s capabilities while reaching new markets. For an industry that produces the technological foundation of our modern world, the innovations pioneered by Jagwani and Agrawal may well represent the future of semiconductor manufacturing—where AI-powered insights finally match the sophistication of the chips being produced.
