Is Intel going to set up a chip production unit in India?

Is Intel planning to set up a semiconductor manufacturing unit in India? It seems so. But it should also be said that the evidence suggesting it is a bit tenuous.

It all started with the purported Twitter handle of Randhir Thakur (@Randhir_Intel), the SVP and the president of Intel Foundry Services, putting out a tweet that read (sic): "Congrats to @GoI_MeitY @AshwiniVaishnaw @Rajeev_GoI for Semiconductor design & manufacturing incentives for India as hub for electronics & semiconductors. Glad to see a plan laid out for all aspects of the supply chain: talent, design, manufacturing, test, packaging & logistics."

The tweet this morning elicited a response from the Union Minister for Railways, Communications, Electronics & Information Technology Ashwini Vaishnaw. He tweeted from his official handle: “Intel - welcome to India." 

Now, the question is whether this tweet should be read as a tacit announcement of Intel setting up a semiconductor unit in India.

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India lures big names in chip manufacturing

The Indian government, it may be recalled, has recently approved a comprehensive program for the development of sustainable semiconductor and display ecosystem in the country at a total cost of Rs 76,000 crore.

There are plenty of incentives for companies like Intel to make more investments in production of chips. And Intel may very well be happy with the government announcement and may be looking at a manufacturing plant in India.

But the Intel's tweet welcoming Indian government's move has come from Randhir Thakur, whose Twitter account doesn't carry any blue tick. More worryingly, the Twitter account, which has only paltry number of followers (226 at the time of writing this), was started only in December 2021.

But, on the other hand, the Indian IT Minister would not be responding with the words he did without any reason. But did he get carried away? Also, when such high-profile names like Intel make an investment commitment, they usually come in through more formal announcements. Then again, in this age of social media dominance, it need always be the case.

So, as of now, it looks like Intel has plans to set up a semiconductor manufacturing unit in India.

More details can emerge soon. Intel, for the record, this month announced that it would invest $7 billion to expand its manufacturing capabilities in advanced semiconductor packaging technology in Penang, Malaysia.

The Indian government, for its part, is luring in companies engaged in silicon semiconductor fabs, display fabs, compound semiconductors, silicon photonics, sensors fabs, semiconductor packaging and semiconductor design to set up shop in the country.

The Indian government had specifically sounded out top chip-making companies for the same. The list of course includes Intel, and also includes others like TSMC (Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company), AMD, Fujitsu and United Microelectronics Corp.

This story will be updated based on the developments.

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