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Vaishnaw visits Ethereal Machines, the Bengaluru startup making 2 micron, five axis CNC machines for chips and aerospace
The IT minister used the visit to argue India must build the machines and precision parts behind semiconductor manufacturing, not just assemble finished goods.
Union Electronics and IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw visited the Bengaluru facility of Ethereal Machines on Saturday, 14 November 2026, and used the stop to make a broader point: India needs to design and build its own machinery and high precision components for semiconductor production, not only the chips themselves. According to an official statement reported by PTI in Business Standard, the company designs, develops and operates advanced CNC machines and makes precision industrial parts with tolerances from 2 microns to 20 microns, work traditionally done in countries such as Germany and Japan.
Vaishnaw followed up on X, writing that these were "Designed in India, Made in India" five axis precision CNC machines with an accuracy of 2 microns, and noting that a human hair is about 80 microns thick. ETV Bharat explains that 2 microns works out to 0.002 mm, roughly one fortieth of a hair. All India Radio's news service described the company as a startup building indigenous computer numerical control machines and said the minister linked such domestic tools to defence, space, semiconductor and electronics supply chains.
Ethereal Machines was founded in 2014 by Kaushik Mudda and Navin Jain. It builds its own multi axis CNC machines, the automated tools that cut and shape metal and other materials, and runs a Machining as a Service business that supplies precision parts to aerospace, defence, healthcare and semiconductor customers, according to The Economic Times and Inc42. Its flagship Aura and Nimbus machines are described by the company as delivering sub 10 micron accuracy.
In June 2026 the company raised $28.5 million, about Rs 272 crore, in a Series B round led by Avataar Ventures with existing investor Peak XV Partners, as reported by The Economic Times, Moneycontrol, VCCircle and Inc42. The money is earmarked for a 300,000 sq ft factory on the outskirts of Bengaluru, an indigenous multi axis CNC controller (the part that tells each axis how to move, which India has so far imported), its AI factory software Vesper, and teams in the US and Europe. The company says it tripled its machining service revenue year on year after its $13 million Series A in June 2024.
Why it matters: a chip fab or an aircraft line depends on thousands of tightly machined parts and on the machines that make them, almost all of which India buys abroad. A minister singling out a domestic machine builder signals where the Semiconductor Programme wants the next layer of capability. The milestone to watch is the home grown CNC controller, which would close one of the most import dependent gaps in Indian manufacturing.
