Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), a prominent U.S. chip manufacturer, has announced a substantial investment of approximately $400 million in India over the next five years.
This investment will pave the way for the establishment of their largest design center in Bengaluru, which is renowned as a thriving tech hub.
The disclosure was made by AMD’s Chief Technology Officer, Mark Papermaster, during a significant semiconductor conference that commenced in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s home state of Gujarat.
Esteemed figures like Foxconn Chairman Young Liu and Micron CEO Sanjay Mehrotra are among the distinguished speakers at this flagship event.
Despite entering the Indian chip sector relatively later, the Modi government has been diligently pursuing investments to consolidate India’s position as a leading chipmaking destination.
AMD’s upcoming design center campus in Bengaluru is scheduled to be operational by the end of this year, and it is expected to generate an impressive 3,000 new engineering positions within the next five years.
“We anticipate our Indian teams to continue their pivotal role in providing high-performance and adaptive solutions that cater to AMD’s global clientele,” emphasized Papermaster.
The prospective campus spans an extensive 500,000 square feet (approximately 55,555 square yards), substantially augmenting AMD’s presence in India, which already boasts ten locations. At present, the company has an employee count exceeding 6,500 in the country.
AMD chips are an integral part of a wide array of devices, ranging from personal computers to data centers. Moreover, the company is actively working on an artificial intelligence chip to rival market leader Nvidia Corp.
In contrast to its primary competitor, Intel, AMD outsources the production of its designed chips to third-party manufacturers like Taiwan’s TSMC.
Internationally, only a select few chipmakers, including TSMC and South Korea’s Samsung, have achieved mastery in cutting-edge chipmaking technology—a sought-after capability that many nations are now vying for to mitigate supply chain disruptions, as was experienced during the pandemic.
Recognizing the significance of the chip sector, India introduced a substantial $10 billion incentive program in 2021.
However, the plan has encountered obstacles, with no company thus far securing clearance for the establishment of a fabrication plant, which stands as the focal point of Modi’s ambitions.
Other substantial investments in India’s chip sector include a multi-year $400 million plan by U.S. chip equipment manufacturer Applied Materials to inaugurate an engineering center in June, and chipmaker Micron’s impressive $825 million investment in a semiconductor testing and packaging unit in Gujarat.