Applied Materials, Inc. recently announced its intention to build a collaborative engineering center in Bangalore, India focused on development and commercialization of technologies for semiconductor manufacturing equipment.
The center will be designed to bring together Applied engineers, leading global and domestic suppliers, and top research and academic institutions, enabling them to collaborate in one location with a common goal of accelerating development of semiconductor equipment sub-systems and components. The center will also aim to serve as a catalyst for the training and development of future semiconductor industry talent, as well as open up new opportunities for India to play an expanded role in the global chip ecosystem.
“Applied is excited to build upon our 20 years of success in India by creating a facility where the country’s top engineers, suppliers and researchers can work side-by-side to develop new innovations,” said Prabu Raja, President of the Semiconductor Products Group at Applied Materials. “We envision Applied’s strong base of engineering talent collaborating more deeply with domestic and global companies operating in India to strengthen the foundational equipment supply chain serving the global semiconductor manufacturing industry.”
“The launch of the India Semiconductor Mission in 2021 helped propel ease of business initiatives for electronics manufacturing in India, and the government has continued to take positive steps towards making the country a favorable investment destination for the global chip industry. Applied Materials is a key part of India’s semiconductor ecosystem and our plan to establish a new collaborative engineering center in Bangalore strengthens our efforts to help advance India on its journey to becoming a global semiconductor hub. Our aim is for the center to play a critical role in bringing the much-required synergies between engineers, academia and suppliers and to empower them to fuel breakthrough ideas,” said Srinivas Satya, Country President of Applied Materials India.
Expected to be located near Applied’s existing campus in Bangalore, the collaborative engineering center is part of the company’s previously announced plans to expand its global innovation infrastructure. Applied currently operates across six sites in India and has a large organization of product development, R&D, IT and operations capabilities in the country. The company also works closely with multiple leading academic institutions including the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore and the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay where Applied has established a Materials Development Center focused on developing next-generation chemistry and materials for the semiconductor industry. The new collaborative engineering center will strengthen Applied’s high-velocity innovation platform which includes the forthcoming EPIC Center in Silicon Valley.
Applied intends to make a gross investment of $400 million over four years to establish the new center in India. In its first five years of operation, the center is expected to support more than $2 billion of planned investments and create at least 500 new advanced engineering jobs along with potentially another 2,500 jobs in the manufacturing ecosystem.