No commitment on setting up fab plant in India, says Intel India MD

Intel India Managing Director Santhosh Viswanath said that Intel, at present, does not have any plans of setting up a semiconductor fabrication plant or any manufacturing line for its products. However, he did say that the company will work with partners to enable the manufacturing ecosystem in the country.

Viswanathan said that India has just begun its journey in the manufacturing space and has 'enough runway for growth'. He said that there is enough opportunity to build, but he did not comment on any plans of the company to set up either a semiconductor plant or any production line for manufacturing. He was addressing a media briefing over a video call on February 9.

Viswanathan explained that the company has three key areas of focus: “First, is to engage with the ecosystem and enable them. Second is to help them design, build products, co-designing products with them, so that costs are lowered. Third and the most important part is go-to-market.”

While explaining the need to engage with the ecosystem, Viswanathan said, “…many of these manufacturing setups are highly complex. It requires all the supply chains to be really aligned. It requires working closely with the Electronic Manufacturing Services (EMS) and the Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) players that are engaged in this manufacturing effort.”

He also added that when it comes to design aspects, Intel’s Bengaluru centre, which houses close to 13,000 design engineers, works closely with the partner ecosystem. “Leveraging the site and the R&D centre to support these customers and build better products at lower cost efficiency is another key area,” he added.

When asked what it will take for India to attract large semiconductor fabs players to set up their manufacturing units in India, Viswanathan said it was a complex issue.

“The ecosystem is very complex. Leading-edge fabs, where Intel plays, is very capital intensive and requires about $10-20 billion to just build one. Then the supply ecosystem is also complex, where do you get all the materials… it requires access to water and land and electricity. It requires about 350 megawatts of power daily to run a fab plant…” explained Viswanathan.

He, of course, believes that India will, over time, have a semiconductor fab as it one by one addresses all these issues.

The Indian government has committed to invest $10 billion to set up semiconductor manufacturing capabilities in the country. Several players like Foxconn, Tata Group, and others have shown interest in setting up manufacturing units.