Applied Materials says Bengaluru chipmaking centre to rake in $2 billion
Applied Materials India
plans to build a centre for chip making in Bengaluru, which has the potential to attract over $2 billion in investments in the future, Suraj Rengarajan, managing director and head of semiconductor products group, Applied Materials India, told ET. His comments come three weeks after Karnataka's cabinet sub-committee approved three semiconductor projects in the State, including Applied Materials'. The company is currently investing $400 million over four years in the facility.
"Our plan is to build Innovation Center for Semiconductor Manufacturing (ICSM) in India, designed to catalyse over $2 billion in investments, create
high-tech opportunities
, and accelerate
semiconductor innovation
," Rengarajan said.
Another American chip equipment maker
Lam Research
will also be setting up two units in Karnataka: an advanced R&D lab with an investment of Rs 6,790 crore, and a semiconductor silicon component manufacturing facility with an investment of Rs 9,111 crore, creating 1400 jobs, delivering cutting-edge capabilities in 2nm technology and silicon ingot production.
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In a statement to ET, the company said, "To maintain proximity to our customers, Lam Research evaluates opportunities to expand our presence at key locations around the world on an ongoing basis. As previously announced, this includes India, where we have had a significant presence for 25 years, as well as other locations across the United States, Asia, and Europe."
"Applied Materials India will set up a first-of-its-kind R&D fab in Bengaluru. Spread across 10 acres with Rs 4,851 crore investment, it will create 1,500 jobs and become a collaborative platform for next-gen chip and display innovations," Karnataka IT minister Priyank Kharge had said on May 28 last month.
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ICSM will unite engineers, suppliers, and academia to develop next-generation manufacturing technologies, while training the talent required for India's expanded role in the global semiconductor ecosystem, Rengarajan said. A key component of this initiative is our academic outreach programme specifically designed to address high-value semiconductor challenges, he said.
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By engaging leading academic institutions like the IITs with practical problem statements, the programme aims at accelerating the development of innovative solutions for the semiconductor equipment industry.
As an R&D lab for next-generation manufacturing equipment technology, it will provide a critical environment for testing and processing equipment sub-systems, replicating real-world fab conditions. "Co-creation and co-innovation with our customers and ecosystem partners at ICSM will drastically cut R&D time, speed up time-to-market, and accelerate component commercialisation," he said. The center will enable full product development capabilities for India as well as the world, he added.
To recall, the company's India Validation Center (IVC), which has demonstrated the capability to process 300-mm wafers – a first for private industry in India was commissioned in March last year.
Delhi-based
Bharat Semi Systems
is also establishing an integrated design manufacturing semiconductor unit including both a design and fab facility in Mysuru with Rs 2,342 crore investment. It will focus on compound semiconductors like silicon carbide and gallium nitride—critical for defence, telecom and climate resilience creating more than 620 jobs, as per Karnataka state government. ET could not reach company founders Vinayak Dalmia, and Vrinda Kapoor.
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