By end of 2023, India will have 50 Semiconductor Startups: Rajeev Chandrasekhar

Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar said there is a lot of doubt about the success rate in the highly difficult world of semiconductor design and manufacture, especially among young people who see their classmates inventing unicorns online.

Now, India has roughly 21 companies, but the minister predicts that by the end of 2023, there would be 50.

If tomorrow there are 100 startups, we will find the resources to support them, and if there are 1,000 startups, we will support them all.

The semiconductor sector has not yet been a clear indicator of the nation’s fundamental strength, in contrast to the software products and services sector. The Indian government has been attempting to change this during the last few years, though.

The government has launched a number of incentive programs, including Design-Linked Incentive (DLI), Production-Linked Incentive (PLI), and others, to support semiconductor, EDA (Electronic Design Automation), and EV firms, harping on the Made In India and Aatmanirbhar Bharat campaigns.

Rajeev Chandrasekhar, India’s Minister of State for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship and Electronics and Information Technology, officially launched the second Semicon Future Design Roadshow in Bengaluru on February 24, 2023, with the goal of raising awareness among startups operating in the field and assisting them in putting their semiconductor design concepts into practice.

The minister introduced the ChipIN Centre at C-DAC Bengaluru, India, during the roadshow. This facility will serve as a one-stop shop for semiconductor design tools, manufacturing access, virtual prototyping HW Lab, and access to fabless chip designers around the nation. The largest datasets program in the world, the India AI datasets program, will be launched, according to Chandrasekhar, in order to spur the ecosystems of intelligent computing, artificial intelligence computing, and device and system design.

The government authorized the Semicon India initiative, with a budget of INR 76,000 Cr, in December of last year in order to expand the ecosystem for semiconductor design and manufacture in India.