Applied Materials plans $5 billion India investment by 2035

New Delhi: US chipmaking equipment maker Applied Materials plans to invest $5 billion in India through 2035, including a proposed 140-acre semiconductor research park in Bengaluru, expansion of its supplier network and more than doubling its R&D workforce.The investment will expand the role of its India operations from chip-equipment design to developing complete products for global customers. Applied Materials makes equipment used to manufacture semiconductors, rather than the chips themselves.“Today, India is participating mostly in the design part of the product life cycle. Now we are talking about the product life cycle end to end,” Prabu Raja, president of Applied Materials’ semiconductor products group, told TOI. This would span innovation, design, development, sourcing and customer support, he said.The proposed research park near Bengaluru airport will bring together laboratories, equipment engineering and collaborative research, allowing suppliers, customers and universities to work with Applied Materials on product development. It will include facilities for research using 300mm silicon wafers, which are used to make chips. A groundbreaking date has not been announced.“We can invent together and develop a product together. It’s all about speed today. India doesn’t have to take the same amount of time that other countries took (to develop semiconductor capabilities),” Raja said.Applied Materials plans to expand its supply-chain capacity tenfold by 2035 and grow its network to more than 100 production and R&D suppliers. It will develop Indian suppliers and bring global suppliers to India, helping them move from components to more complex modules and subsystems for its global operations.Raja said final equipment assembly in India was not part of the announcement. Applied Materials currently assembles equipment in Singapore and the US.The company also plans to expand its innovation presence in Chennai and Mumbai and establish a proposed customer-support centre in Gujarat. It has more than 7,000 employees in India, with the pledge to more than double its workforce applying specifically to R&D.University partnerships, apprenticeships and certification programmes will support efforts to build engineering, manufacturing and supply-chain skills.Get the latest Business News and Live updates. Download the TOI app.