Ahmedabad, NFAPost: Union Minister of State for Electronics & IT Rajeev Chandrasekhar said that SemiconIndia Conference 2023 is showcasing India’s growing commitment to the semiconductor industry and spoke about how India is making rapid strides toward achieving its semiconductor ambitions under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visionary leadership.
The Minister made the statement while addressing the second day of the three-day SemiconIndia 2023. The second day of the three-day SemiconIndia 2023 Conference attracted huge participation from the industry, academia and government.
In the session on Next-Gen Computing, Ventana Micro Systems CEO Balaji Baktha discussed the critical aspects around digital autonomy and sovereign datacenter infrastructure powered by RISC-V. Mihira AI CEO Raja Koduri highlighted the future of computing and emphasized the value of time and financial resources for startups.
Panel discussions were organised to deliberate on various pertinent themes, including semiconductor packaging. Micron Technology Senior Vice President Gursharan Singh; Simmtech Jeffery Chun; Disco Noboru Yoshinaga; and Air Liquide Raja Vinay discussed about the supply chain strategy and roadmap of Micron’s Assembly, Testing, Marking and Packaging (ATMP) plant in India.
The panel led by Micron Technology’s Hem Takiar and other esteemed dignitaries – Prof Tummala Rao, Georgia Tech; Dr Surya Bhattacharya, IME Singapore; Devan Iyer, Amkor, and Amrit Manwani, Sahasra shared their views on the importance of packaging research and innovation in driving future performance of semiconductor packaging in India. The panelists highlighted the potential of India in large-scale R&D and how consortia model and industry-relevant research could play a key role.
The deliberations on “Next-generation designs” explored the cutting-edge advancements and future possibilities in the semiconductor industry. NXP Semiconductors’s Lars Reger spoke about the growth of autonomous and Electric Vehicles (EVs) in India.
“It is important that software and digital twin technologies are gaining prominence, with a focus on creating modern smartphone-like experiences for charging and driving. Indian unicorns are seen as aspiring partners for NXP, further enriching the innovation landscape,” said NXP Semiconductors’s Lars Reger.
The panel comprising Micron Technology’s Anand Ramamoorthy; Marvell’s Navin Bishnoi; NXP Semiconductors Hitesh Garg; Renesas’s Malini Narayanamoorthi; Samsung Semiconductor India R&D Center’s Balajee Sowrirajan and InCore Semiconductors Neel Gala deliberated on how emerging designs are driving the Fab loading. They emphasized the importance of custom computing for AI and data centers and underlined the growth potential in the automotive industry.
The panel discussion on future design and investment opportunities in India steered by Vinod Dham focused on supporting chip design startups to strengthen India’s position in the semiconductor industry. Other participants including Fermionic Design’s Gautam Singh; Vervesemi Microelectronics’s Rakesh Malik; Morphing Machines’s Deepak Shapeti, Jyothis Indirabhai’s Netrasemi; Accord Software & Systems’ Narayana Rao and DV2JS Innovation’s Vinayak Dalmia threw light on the importance of chip design, packaging, testing, and supply chains.
The panel discussed the immense potential and opportunities in chip design and semiconductor-related industries in India, with strong government support playing a crucial role in nurturing innovation and growth in this field.
The day also shed light on creating investment opportunities in the Indian semiconductor ecosystem. On this, Celesta Capital’s Gani Subramaniam and Matrix Partners Sudipto Sannigrahi highlighted the historical and current interest in semiconductor startups, while noting the absence of a viable end market in the past.
Endiya Partners Sateesh Andra emphasised that lack of capital is not a hindrance as it follows talent, while Qualcomm Ventures Rama Bethmangalkar praised the government’s efforts and discussed their hardware accelerator and mentorship programs.
In the Panel Discussion on Roadmap for India Semiconductor Research Centre (ISRC), IBM Semiconductors Mukesh Khare; Georgia Tech Tummala Rao; Principal Scientific Advisor to Government of India Ajay Sood; IMEC Senior Vice President Samavedam and SCL Former Director Surinder Singh deliberated on the roadmap for semiconductor research in India.
The vision of ISRC is to establish a world-class research institution driving innovation in advanced semiconductor and packaging technologies, with three components: Academic, Industrial and Volume manufacturing.
The eminent speakers from the semiconductor and electronics industry – Applied Materials Raman Achutharaman; Lam Research Sesha Varadarajan; KLA Ahmad Khan and Applied Materials Prabu Raja exchanged their views on how India can make a mark in the global landscape and its increasing role in semiconductor equipment innovation and research for resilient semiconductor supply-chain. The speakers emphasized the importance of collaborative problem-solving as the semiconductor industry’s challenges have become increasingly complex.
An insightful session around the theme “Building a sustainable semiconductor ecosystem” was led by GlobalFoundries Vice President Jitendra Chaddah. Industry stalwarts, namely, Vedanta Semiconductors Ltd CEO David Reed; Jacobs Global Solutions Director David Krick and INOX Group Diganta Sharma also shared their thoughts and acknowledged the government’s support in facilitating the semiconductor industry’s growth and applauded its focus on the sector’s strategic importance.
The panelists recognised the capital-intensive nature of the semiconductor industry and the need for investments in infrastructure, technology and human resources to ensure its success in India.
In the session on “Semiconductor Supply-chains for Sustainable Semiconductor Industry”, Applied Materials’ President & MD Srinivas Satya said that in the realm of the global semiconductor manufacturing industry, there has been a remarkable shift towards embracing a sustainable supply chain. Applied Materials Global Supply Chain Vice President Paul Chhabra spoke about the challenges in developing and nurturing a strong semiconductor supply chain ecosystem, presenting a significant opportunity in India.
In the panel discussion on “Global trends and Innovations in Semi Equipment Supply Chain”, industry leaders from semiconductor equipment supplier companies, namely, EFF’s Michael Holder; Foxsemicon Integrated Technologies Jackson Hwang; Coorstek’s Kevin Ressler; and Ichor’s Phil Barros deliberated on how to thrive as a successful supplier to semiconductor equipment industry.
During the panel discussion on “Building a sustainable domestic Semiconductor Supply-chain in India”, the focus revolved around understanding what it takes for Indian suppliers to penetrate the semiconductor supply chain effectively. In the panel discussion on “Attracting Global Semiconductor Supply-chains”, industry leaders from semiconductor industry explored factors that should be considered for establishing semiconductor supply chain in India.
