At the Core of Innovation: India’s Rising Semiconductor Design Leadership

Semiconductors are not simply one more building block of the digital economy but its foundation. From artificial intelligence and cloud computing to smartphones, electric vehicles, and healthcare technology, semiconductors are the quiet backroom enablers of today's innovation.

For India, this transformation is urgent and opportunistic. Before manufacturing fabs take off, India has already become an integral part of the global ecosystem due to its strength in semiconductor design. Recent studies indicate that nearly 20% of the world's chip design engineers are Indian, underscoring the significant contribution they make. This is not merely a figure; it reflects India's rise as a design power that supports global aspirations for technological superiority.

India's Strategic Advantage in Chip Design

In the past two decades, global semiconductor giants have laid deep roots in India. Intel, Qualcomm, Nvidia, Broadcom, and MediaTek are among the companies that have established large R&D and design facilities in Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Noida, and other locations. These groups handle everything from logic design and simulation to firmware, driver development, and power optimization; functions that are at the core of transforming a chip's architecture into a working, competitive product.

Industry publications point to a distinct division of labor: though blueprints for buildings may frequently come from abroad, Indian design groups assume a central position in implementation, efficiency gains, and integration. India has become an indispensable partner for chipmakers worldwide, and its growing involvement now places the nation squarely on the map of key semiconductor contributors.

Amplifying Demand & Policy Momentum

India's contribution is not only of talent; it is also in consumption. Currently, India's semiconductor demand is about USD 24 billion, but it is expected to go up to . Consumer electronics, automotive, 5G networks, and new applications like AI and IoT will drive this growth.

This double-edged position, as both a source of design manpower and one of the most rapidly growing semiconductor markets, places India in a singularly advantageous position. Policymakers have already sensed the importance, initiating the Semicon India Programme with an investment commitment of approximately ₹76,000 crore to induce investments in fabrication, assembly, testing, and packaging. Coupled with incentives for design start-ups and R&D, these initiatives are framing the outlines of a more integrated ecosystem.

Opportunities, Challenges & The Path Forward

The path forward is promising but not without obstacles.

• Scaling Manufacturing: India's design strength must eventually be matched with local fabrication and sophisticated packaging. Without this, the ecosystem risks being import-dependent for physical manufacturing.
• Deepening Design Leadership: Although India has delivered on execution, the future calls for upstream innovation, such as chip architecture, proprietary IP, and next-generation design tools. This necessitates investment in cutting-edge R&D and robust academia-industry collaboration.
• Talent Upskilling: The current pool of engineers is large, but with chips becoming increasingly sophisticated, with multi-core processors, AI accelerators, and power-saving designs, therefore, ongoing skilling and specialization will be essential.
• Ecosystem Readiness: From raw material availability to testing facilities, from clean power to cleanroom facilities, several enablers need to fall in place for competitiveness.
• Global Partnerships: Semiconductors are inherently global in nature. Success for India will rely on integrating with, rather than isolating from, global supply chains.

Overcoming these challenges will decide if India's design edge can be converted into end-to-end semiconductor dominance.

Beyond Numbers: The Strategic Significance of India’s Design Edge

With nearly one-fifth of the world’s chip designers based here, and ranking third globally in chip design research publications, the nation has already proven its ability to contribute meaningfully to global innovation. Combined with firm local demand and encouraging policies, India is strategically poised to shift from being a talent provider to a value creator along the semiconductor stack.

For multinational corporations, India is a reliable partner with scale, cost benefits, and increasingly advanced engineering skills. For India, semiconductors are a key to achieving technological independence, generating high-value employment, and fostering long-term economic competitiveness.

Tessolve's Role in India's Semiconductor Future

At Tessolve, we play an active role in advancing India’s semiconductor journey with expertise in chip design and verification, test and reliability engineering, and embedded systems. We support global customers in developing innovative, high-performance products and accelerating their time-to-market.

With over 20 years of engineering leadership and a presence across 12 countries, Tessolve connects India’s top semiconductor talent with the evolving requirements of the global industry.

Through continuous innovation, collaboration, and technical excellence, Tessolve is driving the next generation of semiconductor solutions and enabling progress across industries.