US semiconductor equipment giant Applied Materials announced at SEMICON India, the country’s flagship chip exhibition on Thursday, that it will invest USD 5 billion (approximately 33.5 billion RMB) in India over the next decade to expand its local presence.
The three-day event was held in New Delhi, covering chip materials, design, manufacturing and packaging. It drew more than 600 companies and delegates from 52 nations, serving as India’s platform to showcase its ambition in the semiconductor sector.
Globally, nations are racing to secure chip production capacity this year. Computing demands driven by artificial intelligence have further intensified the competition, intertwined with geopolitical tensions. The US and China have imposed mutual export restrictions on chip technologies. India positions itself as a “trusted partner”, courting enterprises seeking to diversify production away from Chinese mainland and Taiwan region.
Investment Focused on R&D, Supply Chain and Talent
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi stated: “The world urgently needs new, reliable manufacturing locations. I can responsibly say India is steadily preparing for this.”
Per estimates by the Indian government, India’s semiconductor consumption stood at USD 45–50 billion in 2025 and is projected to hit USD 110 billion by 2030.
Applied Materials ranks among the world’s largest semiconductor equipment suppliers (second only to ASML). The firm stated that its India investment will focus on R&D, supply chain expansion and workforce development.
Large-scale Wafer Fabs Yet to Produce Silicon Wafers
India has pledged over USD 21 billion across two major semiconductor incentive schemes, yet it remains a latecomer to this capital-intensive industry, where regions such as Taiwan have built infrastructure for decades.
Over the past five years, India’s incentive programs have approved 12 projects. Three chip packaging plants have commenced commercial operations, including one run by US firm Micron.
Nevertheless, India’s progress has not yet yielded functional chips from any large-scale wafer fabrication facility. The flagship initiative is Tata Electronics’ USD 10 billion wafer fab in the western state of Gujarat, whose commercial mass production has been delayed for nearly two years.
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