• JV strategy: Rashi Peripherals and Japan’s Restar are forming a joint venture to expand semiconductor and embedded solutions in India, support local manufacturing, and tap Japanese manufacturers. Rashi said it began building its semiconductor/embedded vertical 6 years back.
• Ownership structure: Restar’s share is approximately 26%, with the majority held by Restar; Goenka described the 74:26 split as a commercial understanding and said both companies intend to scale the business together.
• Market opportunity: Goenka cited a government projection of a $150 billion USD Indian semiconductor market by 2030, a $5 billion distribution opportunity, and a $0.5 billion current opportunity in image sensing. He expects high double-digit growth in image sensing, supported by local manufacturing and rising production of cameras and surveillance devices.
• Engineering and margins: The JV aims to transfer solution-design and customer-support expertise and become technology-oriented, building on Rashi’s Bangalore laboratory. Goenka said semiconductor margins are almost double the 5% to 6% gross margin in IT, but enhanced design capabilities will bring additional costs.
• Target customers: The JV plans to approach automotive and industrial camera customers, including Maruti Suzuki, Honda and their Tier 1 customers, as well as consumer-electronics companies such as Daikin.