NXP Semiconductors is set to invest more than $1 billion in India to bolster its R&D efforts in the region.
Speaking at the inaugural Semicon India conference, CEO Kurt Sievers said that the company was “committed to doubling its R&D efforts here in the country in the next few years.”
The company currently employs around 3,000 people across four semiconductor design centers in the country.
The Indian government has been trying to boost its domestic semiconductor sector in recent years, passing a number of pieces of legislation including the Modified Programme for Semiconductors and Display Fab Ecosystem, an 828 billion rupee ($10bn) scheme that was authorized in December 2021 which allows companies to apply for up to 50 percent of capital costs for eligible semiconductor and display manufacturing projects.
Indian conglomerate L&T also used a keynote speech at Semicon India to announce its plan to invest more than $300 million to establish a fabless chip company in India, and earlier this month Israel’s Tower Semiconductor announced it had partnered with another big Indian business, the Adani Group, to invest $10 billion in a semiconductor plant in Maharashtra, India.
In January 2024, India's government approved three proposals to build semiconductor manufacturing plants in the country worth a combined 1.26 trillion rupees ($15.2 billion), having previously also green-lit a Micron ATMP (assembly, testing, marking, and packaging) facility.
The announcement from Netherlands-based NXP Semiconductors comes a week after it was granted approval to establish the VisionPower Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (VSMC) joint venture with Vanguard International Semiconductor Corporation (VIS) and move ahead with the planned construction of a $7.8 billion 300mm wafer fab in Singapore.
Also this month, Indian Prime Minister Modi signed a MoU with the Singaporean government, pledging that the two countries work together to strengthen their respective semiconductor ecosystems.
