The most advanced 2nm (nanometer) chips, which will power AI servers, drones, and smartphones, will be designed at the newly inaugurated office of British semiconductor firm ARM in Bengaluru, IT minister Ashwini Vaishnaw announced on Tuesday while inaugurating the office.
The minister congratulated ARM and its team for choosing India as a hub for such cutting-edge work. ARM’s 2nm chip design programme would make it only the second company after Renesas to hit this milestone in India.
“As we develop the semiconductor ecosystem in the country, we must go to more leading nodes,” said the minister, adding that the government is in continuous engagement with companies like ASML, IBM Albany, IMEC.
Under the India Semiconductor Mission (ISM), the government’s emphasis remains on supporting industries that need 28nm and larger chips, which account for around 60% of global semiconductor demand, catering to sectors such as automotive, telecom, consumer electronics, and industrial manufacturing.
Currently, under the ISM, there have been 10 semiconductor units announced - two fabrication plants and eight ATMP units - of which the CG Semi unit in Gujarat’s Sanand will be creating the first made-in-India chip for the country. Another two ATMP units in Gujarat are expected to begin pilot production very soon.
“Our objective under ISM is to develop a very deep talent pipeline, and this is reflected in so many international companies coming to India because the talent is here. The ISM is currently supporting 278 institutions where the world’s leading tools are available to students and they are designing chips, of which 28 of the chips have already been designed,” said the minister at the inauguration.
{{/usCountry}}“Our objective under ISM is to develop a very deep talent pipeline, and this is reflected in so many international companies coming to India because the talent is here. The ISM is currently supporting 278 institutions where the world’s leading tools are available to students and they are designing chips, of which 28 of the chips have already been designed,” said the minister at the inauguration.
{{/usCountry}}Under ISM 2.0, the government’s focus is expected to be on equipment and materials that go into manufacturing chips. “We are looking at the complete semiconductor stack - design, manufacturing chips, manufacturing the equipment that go into chips and the complete talent pipeline,” said the minister.