To support India’s goal of becoming a global semiconductor manufacturing hub, AMD plans to invest about $400 million there for the next five years and establish its largest design facility there in Bengaluru, India’s southernmost city.
In Gujarat, the home state of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, AMD CTO Mark Papermaster outlined the chipmaker’s investment ambitions on Friday at the SemiconIndia 2023 conference. In his keynote address, Papermaster stated, “Our investment will build on over two decades of growth and successful presence here in India.”
By the end of this year, AMD will increase its presence in India by launching a new design facility in Bengaluru. This new building, which has a floor area of 500,000 square feet, would increase the number of AMD offices in India to 10, including establishments in Delhi, Gurugram, Hyderabad, and Mumbai.
“Through these investments, AMD will further expand our R&D capabilities in India to be able to drive our semiconductor design innovation in support of the government’s India semiconductor mission and drive to make India a strong semiconductor talent and nation,” the executive said.
The Santa Clara-based business began in South Asia in 2001 and now employs over 6,500 people and 3,000 partners and contractors. By the end of 2028, the chipmaker plans to increase the number of engineers working there by 3,000.
Ashwini Vaishnaw, minister of electronics and information technology in India, said, “We welcome AMD’s plan to expand its cutting-edge R&D engineering operations in India.”
The meeting will also feature participation from other business leaders, such as Foxconn Chairman Young Liu, Micron CEO Sanjay Mehrotra, and Applied Materials semiconductor products group president Prabu Raja.
India aims to emerge as the world’s next major semiconductor hub. The Narendra Modi-led administration launched a $10 billion incentive program in 2021 to entice chipmakers to establish regional facilities nationwide.
However, the government had to change the program in June because the initial iteration did not receive a favorable response from international businesses.
Semiconductor manufacturer Applied Materials announced a $400 million investment in June to establish its engineering center in India. Computer memory and data storage manufacturer Micron announced a plan to invest up to $825 million to construct a semiconductor facility in the nation last month.
“I applaud AMD’s decision to expand India-AMD cooperation and locate its largest R&D design center in India. It will undoubtedly be crucial to creating a top-notch semiconductor design and innovation ecosystem.
Rajeev Chandrasekhar, the minister of state for electronics and IT, skill development, and entrepreneurship, said that it would also “provide tremendous opportunities for our large pool of highly skilled semiconductor engineers and researchers” and would “catalyze PM Narendra Modi’s vision of India becoming a global talent hub.” Source