New Delhi, Apr 6 (KNN) In the final quarter of last year, India saw a significant surge in the establishment of new Global Capability Centres (GCCs), with approximately 30 per cent focusing on the semiconductor domain. 

This trend underscores a burgeoning interest in harnessing local talent across various segments like front-end design, performance testing, and post-silicon validation, as per findings from a Nasscom-Zinnov report.

According to the Nasscom-Zinnov report, the global semiconductor talent pool stands at 2.3 million individuals, with the US, China, and India collectively constituting 50 per cent of this pool. 

Bengaluru and Hyderabad jointly host around two-thirds of India's semiconductor GCCs, accommodating over two-thirds of the total 55 semiconductor GCCs. With over 95 GCC units and a specialised workforce exceeding 50,000, this underscores India's commitment to fostering the semiconductor industry.

Various critical roles span the semiconductor value chain, including ASIC design engineer, reliability test engineer, clean room technician, chip encapsulation specialist, PCB design engineer, RF test engineer, and thin film engineer.

The Nasscom-Zinnov report highlights that GCCs are evolving their India centres into transformation hubs, concentrating on chip design and development while outsourcing fabrication to specialised foundries. 

Among the recent entrants into the semiconductor arena is Signature IP, a firm founded in 2021 specialising in advancing network-on-chip (NoC) technology. 

EdgeCortix is dedicated to designing AI-specific processor architecture from scratch, while M31 Technology Corporation operates as a silicon IP provider. With a centre in Bengaluru, M31 is engaged in IP development, IC design, and electronic design automation, focusing on solutions like memory compilers and standard cell libraries.

Micron's India centre has unveiled plans for a 1 TB 232-Layer 3D TLC NAND Flash memory chip suitable for diverse applications in business, consumer, and gaming, backed by a substantial USD 2.7 billion investment for its semiconductor chip assembly and test facility in Sanand.

Globally renowned chip design firms such as Intel, Texas Instruments, AMD, Nvidia, and Qualcomm maintain design and R&D centres in India. Recently, AMD inaugurated its largest global design centre in Bengaluru, aiming to hire approximately 3,000 engineers in the forthcoming years. 

Part of a USD 400 million investment in India over the next five years, the AMD Technostar campus will serve as a centre of excellence across high-performance CPUs for data centres and PCs, data centre and gaming GPUs, and adaptive SoCs and FPGAs for embedded devices.

(KNN Bureau)