India’s salary growth and employment opportunities are finally moving beyond Tier I cities. Manufacturing and industrial expansion as well as enterprise investments are leading the way.
But back in 2019, this wasn’t really the case.
At the time, India’s formal employment ecosystem was overwhelmingly concentrated in Tier I cities. High-paying jobs and opportunities in the spaces of technology, manufacturing, engineering, and corporate functions were largely available only in metros such as Bengaluru, Pune, Chennai, Mumbai, and Hyderabad.
Young professionals from smaller cities had to migrate – not necessarily by choice, but by necessity.
Chidambaram Velusamy, an entrepreneur and engineer, decided to do his part: build something that could absorb and justifiably grow the careers of the engineering graduates from a Tier-III city in Tamil Nadu.
“I grew up in Namakkal and have always seen how much potential there is in people here, especially the younger demographic. When I started this company, I believed I could hit two birds with one stone: fix the lack of indigenous capabilities required by the EV industry and offer meaningful employment to engineering graduates. Safe to say, we have been able to pull both off,” Chidambaram Velusamy, founder of Ettiksoft, tells Startup Pedia in an exclusive interview.
Founded in 2019 and based in Tamil Nadu, Ettiksoft is a deep-tech automotive engineering startup that enables secure mobility through end-to-end automotive cybersecurity solutions.
The backstory of the Ettiksoft founder
Chidambaram Velusamy has had nearly a decade of experience as a tech entrepreneur and engineer.
Initially, he was a Biomedical Service Engineer. Next, he ran an inverter and battery business until 2015. Later, he joined an embedded systems company and worked there till 2019.
“While working in the industry, I discovered that connected vehicle adoption is rapidly happening in the United States and Europe. India is fond of vehicles and already a manufacturing hub, so I assumed that this would soon happen here as well. And when it does, the most pressing challenge will be software. So I began looking to build an automotive engineering company,” the entrepreneur says.
The problem statement: unfulfilled industry needs and a talent gap
On conducting deeper research in the EV market, entrepreneur Chidambaram Velusamy discovered multiple issues:
Regulations such as AIS-189 and AIS-190 are becoming mandatory, but OEMs are struggling to adapt.
The automotive industry is still lacking capabilities in hardware development, embedded software, and testing. At the same time, automotive cybersecurity expertise is usually tough to find.
Namakkal was producing a large number of engineering graduates, but very few engineering companies existed locally to employ them. Migrating to Tier I cities had become the norm.
“I decided to launch Ettiksoft as a Tamil Nadu-based company that could build automotive cybersecurity solutions tailored for Indian requirements. The original vision, which has remained the same to date, was to bridge the technology gap between industry needs and engineering talent,” startup founder Chidambaram explains.
The journey and challenges of building Ettiksoft
Chidambaram Velusamy started Ettiksoft with a bootstrapped amount of Rs 1 lakh. This came from his savings.
Initially, the founder struggled with recruiting talent because many young professionals preferred established automotive companies in metro cities. He had to spend a lot of time building a core team to develop the cybersecurity products and capabilities.
“Another problem was acquiring clients. Since Ettiksoft was a new company in the automotive cybersecurity domain, we had no track record. On top of that, we had to convince customers to choose us despite operating outside traditional Tier-1 automotive hubs,” the startup founder tells Startup Pedia.
Ettiksoft’s first client approached Chidambaram after missing project deadlines and facing penalties. The team immediately got to work round the clock, successfully delivered the project, and earned long-term business.
“This crisis-solving approach became our customer acquisition strategy. Eventually, customers started trusting us because we stuck to on-time delivery, high engineering quality, and were able to perform under pressure,” he says.
Ettiksoft: secure mobility, every single time
Today, Ettiksoft operates as a deep-tech automotive engineering startup that enables secure mobility through end-to-end automotive cybersecurity solutions.
The core focus is on developing products and engineering services that address automotive supply chain challenges, government regulations, and vehicle cybersecurity.
Ettiksoft’s product range includes:
Automotive Cybersecurity Solutions (ISO 21434)
Single and Dual Channel ABS for two-wheelers
HIL and SIL Testing Services
Embedded Software Development
“Our business has a hybrid model where we offer everything in the automotive compliance field: SaaS subscriptions, consulting, hardware engineering, and software development,” startup founder Chidambaram Velusamy says.
The deep-tech automotive engineering startup has served Tier-1 automotive suppliers and connected vehicle manufacturers.
But what really differentiates Ettiksoft from other firms operating in the same domain?
The founder claims that they use a holistic engineering approach, are flexible with demands, and focus on quality execution. Long-term partnerships are prioritized over immediate advantages.
The value that Ettiksoft offers is clear: it helps customers directly reduce engineering costs as well as slash project development time.
“Our core technical expertise lies in embedded software, automotive cybersecurity, functional safety, product engineering, consulting, and testing and validation. We have built comprehensive expertise across multiple verticals because that helps customers build safer and more secure mobility solutions,” entrepreneur Chidambaram Velusamy tells Startup Pedia.
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Growth, traction, and what’s next for the deep-tech automotive engineering startup
To date, Ettiksoft has scaled to 15+ automotive clients and completed 50+ comprehensive projects in the secure mobility field. Operations have expanded across India and reached Switzerland.
“Our customer base has evolved from Tier-2 companies to Tier-1 suppliers and Automotive OEMs,” the startup founder says.
In 2019, Ettiksoft hit an annual revenue between Rs 25 and 50 lakh. In FY26, the figure reached Rs 8-10 crore.
The automotive engineering company has achieved major milestones in the mobility field:
Commercialized an ABS product
Launched an in-house TARA tool compliant with ISO 21434
Developed ADAS features for steering systems
Built an advanced automotive penetration testing facility in Coimbatore
However, the company did not share its marquee clients due to certain non-disclosure agreements in place.
In the next 2-5 years, Ettiksoft aims to transition from an engineering services company to a Tier-1 supplier serving automotive OEMs directly. It is currently working on launching an indigenous two-wheeler ABS as well as EV sub-components that will reduce import dependence.
“We will start targeting the APAC, EMEA, and North American markets. The long-term vision is to become the preferred automotive engineering partner for global OEMs and suppliers. As for me, I am happy I took this step in 2019 and didn’t give up despite having zero backing in the industry. We remain bootstrapped to date and are still committed to the principles we started Ettiksoft with: never compromise on quality, build trust, and close talent gaps,” Chidambaram Velusamy signs off.
FAQ
When was Ettiksoft founded?
Ettiksoft was founded in 2019 and is based in Tamil Nadu.
Who is the founder of Ettiksoft?
Chidambaram Velusamy is the founder of Ettiksoft.
What does Ettiksoft do?
Ettiksoft is a deep-tech automotive engineering startup that enables secure mobility through end-to-end automotive cybersecurity solutions.
What is the revenue of Ettiksoft?
To date, Ettiksoft has scaled to 15+ automotive clients and completed 50+ comprehensive projects in the secure mobility field. In FY26, the business recorded an annual revenue of Rs 8-10 crore.
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