Applied Materials to invest $5 billion in India as Modi’s flagship chip event kicks off

Applied Materials announced it will invest $5 billion in India over the next decade to bolster its presence in the country during the SEMICON India conference on Thursday. The event, which brought together over 600 companies and representatives from 52 nations, showcased India's semiconductor ambitions across various aspects such as materials, design, fabrication, and packaging.

The industry's focus has been heavily influenced by the global scramble for chip production capacity driven by the surge in computing demands for AI and geopolitical tensions between Washington and Beijing, which have imposed export restrictions on chip technology.

India has positioned itself as a trusted partner, actively courting companies seeking to diversify from Taiwan and China. Prime Minister Narendra Modi emphasized the urgency of the world needing new and reliable manufacturing locations, stating that India is preparing itself with great responsibility. The country's semiconductor consumption is expected to reach $110 billion by 2030, up from $45 billion to $50 billion in 2025, according to government estimates.

Applied Materials, a leading semiconductor equipment maker, will focus its investment on research, supply chain expansion, and workforce growth in India. The company's commitment aligns with India's efforts to become a significant player in the capital-intensive semiconductor industry. While India has committed over $21 billion across two key semiconductor incentive programs and approved twelve projects in the past five years, including three chip-packaging plants, it still has not achieved a single chip from a large-scale fabrication plant.

One of the flagship projects, a $10 billion Tata Electronics fab in Gujarat, has faced nearly two years of delays in commercial production.