DBT Bureau
Bengaluru, 17 May
Indian SaaS major, Zoho is planning to enter the semiconductor space with an investment plan of around $700 million into chip making, global news agency Reuters said in a report citing sources.
According to the report, the company is seeking incentives from the Indian government for its entry into chip-making.
Zoho’s proposed plan is being reviewed by the panel in IT Ministry, which evaluated such initiatives before granting any incentive, the report added. The SaaS major, which sells its subscription-based software in around 150 countries, has also identified a partner for setting up such a unit, Reuters report said.
Earlier in March, Founder and CEO Sridhar Vembu had said that Zoho might be planning a chip design project in Tamil Nadu. The company’s plan to enter into chip manufacturing is seen as a step to diversify its business into the emerging space.
India has aggressive plans in the semiconductor space as the country is trying to be self-reliant in the critical chip-making sector.
In February this year, India has already provided a green signal to construction of three semiconductor plants worth over $15 billion by firms including Tata Group and CG Power.
While Tata Electronics Private will set up a semiconductor fab in Dholera, Gujarat in alliance with Taiwan-based Powerchip Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp, Tata Semiconductor Assembly and Test Pvt Ltd will set up a Rs 27,000 crore semiconductor unit in Morigaon, Assam.
Similarly, Mumbai-based CG Power will set up a semiconductor unit in Sanand, Gujarat in collaboration with Renesas Electronics Corp, Japan, and Stars Microelectronics, Thailand.
India has a good talent base for chip design as around 30% of global chip design happens in the country. Now, the country aims to have its own chip manufacturing units (fabs) in order to be self-reliant in this strategically important segment.
India realised the importance of cutting its dependency on China in the semi-conductor space during the COVID period when chips came into short-supply owing to severe supply chain disruptions. Since then, many nations including the US and India have been betting big on manufacturing chips on their own soils for reducing such reliance on other nations.
