Intel Eyes Deeper India Play in Chips, AI
The virtual meeting comes as India’s semiconductor market continues to grow.
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Intel Chief Executive Lip Bu Tan and Indian ambassador to the US Vinay Mohan Kwatra held a virtual meeting over the weekend to discuss the chipmaker’s plans to expand its semiconductor and artificial intelligence operations in India.
The talks are understood to support India’s national technology programs, including the India Semiconductor Mission (ISM) and the IndiaAI Mission, which are aimed at building domestic capabilities across chip design, manufacturing and AI computing.
The virtual meeting comes as India’s semiconductor market continues to grow. The industry, which was valued at $38 billion in 2023, is projected to reach between $45 billion and $50 billion by the end of this year, and could rise to $100–110 billion by 2030, according to government estimates.
India launched the ISM in 2021 with a ₹76,000 crore (about $8.57 billion today) outlay to develop fabrication, packaging and design infrastructure. By 2025, the country opened its first 3-nanometre chip design centres in Noida and Bengaluru. Five semiconductor fabrication units are currently under construction.
Separately, the IndiaAI Mission, launched in 2024 with a budget of ₹10,371.92 crore (about $1.16 billion today), has expanded access to AI compute infrastructure. National GPU capacity has grown from 10,000 to 38,000 units, with additional investment in datasets, skilling, application development, startup funding and responsible AI.
The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology has identified seven focus areas for the AI programme: compute, AIKosh (India’s open AI repository), datasets, models, applications, human capital, and regulatory frameworks.
Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw recently announced Cabinet approval for four additional semiconductor manufacturing proposals under the ISM. These include new projects in Odisha, Andhra Pradesh and Punjab, totalling an investment of ₹4,594 crore.
Earlier this year, the minister also inaugurated India’s first advanced 3-nanometre design centres in Noida and Bengaluru. Officials have said these mark a strategic shift in India’s role from backend service support to a larger presence in the global semiconductor value chain.
Intel is already a significant investor in India, with engineering and R&D operations in Bengaluru and Hyderabad.
