India’s semiconductor ambitions will depend on its ability to build capabilities across the entire chip development lifecycle, from design and validation to tape-out and commercialisation. In this exclusive conversation with Rajeev Ranjan, Editor, Digital Terminal, Suresh Babu Katta, Founder and CEO of Nanopowered Technologies, shares his perspective on how India can strengthen its semiconductor engineering ecosystem, create global opportunities for chip-design companies, and develop the talent and indigenous intellectual property needed to compete internationally.
Rajeev: How can India build a truly end-to-end semiconductor ecosystem beyond manufacturing investments?
Suresh: India needs to develop the semiconductor value chain as an integrated ecosystem, covering design, packaging, software, validation and product development alongside manufacturing. Each layer needs to reinforce the others.
A key requirement is enabling companies to progress from architecture and design through tape-out, silicon validation, qualification and commercialisation. Government support can help reduce early technology and first-silicon risks, while stronger private participation can support longer development cycles.
The goal should be to create an environment where Indian companies can undertake increasingly complex semiconductor programmes and develop products for both domestic and global markets.
Rajeev: Where can Indian chip-design companies create the strongest global competitive advantage?
Suresh: India’s strongest opportunity lies in combining its semiconductor engineering depth with specialised domain expertise and agility. Instead of competing directly with global semiconductor giants across broad categories, Indian companies can focus on specific problems where they have a strong understanding of customer requirements.
Areas such as security, smart cards, edge AI and industrial electronics offer opportunities for specialised solutions. Deep technical expertise, close customer engagement and the ability to optimise solutions for specific applications can create meaningful differentiation.
This approach can allow smaller Indian companies to build strong positions in carefully defined, high-value markets.
Rajeev: What can make Hyderabad a globally competitive semiconductor design and engineering hub?
Suresh: Hyderabad can strengthen its position by developing capabilities across the complete semiconductor development lifecycle from architecture and design to implementation, tape-out, silicon validation and product qualification.
The city also needs an ecosystem that enables semiconductor companies to undertake complex programmes rather than limiting them to individual engineering functions. Strong technical talent, access to capital and opportunities for startups to develop and validate semiconductor solutions will be important.
The real measure of a successful semiconductor hub should ultimately be the complexity of the technologies, silicon and products being developed from there.
Rajeev: What skills and capabilities will India need to meet the next wave of chip-design demand?
Suresh: India will need engineers with a broader understanding of the semiconductor lifecycle. Professionals must increasingly understand how decisions at the architecture and design stages affect implementation, silicon and the eventual product.
This requires capabilities across system architecture, design, verification, physical implementation, timing, silicon validation and security. India will also need stronger expertise in areas such as RISC-V, AI accelerators, chiplets, advanced packaging and hardware-software co-design.
Most importantly, engineers need an end-to-end mindset from specification and architecture through tape-out, silicon and product qualification.
Rajeev: What must India change to move from semiconductor capability to global semiconductor leadership?
Suresh: India has established a strong semiconductor engineering base. The next challenge is creating the conditions for companies to develop globally competitive semiconductor products from that foundation.
This requires greater risk appetite because semiconductor development has long cycles, from architecture and first silicon to qualification and revenue. Venture capital needs to become more comfortable with these hardware timelines, while patient early-stage funding can help companies navigate the initial technology risks.
Government programmes can play a catalytic role by absorbing some of the early-stage risk and enabling private capital to participate with greater confidence.
Rajeev: How is Nanopowered Technologies contributing to India’s semiconductor design ecosystem, and what is the company’s vision for building globally competitive chip-design capabilities from India?
Suresh: Nanopowered Technologies is contributing to India’s semiconductor design ecosystem through its specialized expertise in ASIC design, tapeout execution, and end-to-end semiconductor engineering across multiple technology nodes. The company brings experience across critical stages of chip development, including physical design, power integrity and EMIR signoff, timing closure, and tapeout readiness, helping translate complex semiconductor designs into manufacturable silicon.
A key part of Nanopowered’s contribution is developing India’s semiconductor talent pipeline. By providing hands-on exposure to real-world semiconductor projects, mentoring emerging engineers, and integrating new talent into demanding engineering environments, the company is helping build a skilled, industry-ready workforce capable of meeting global semiconductor design standards.
In parallel, Nanopowered is investing in indigenous semiconductor IP development for diverse applications, with the aim of creating reusable technology assets and differentiated solutions that can support future semiconductor products. This evolution builds on the company’s engineering foundation and expands its participation from design services and tapeout execution towards proprietary technology development.
Nanopowered’s long-term vision is to help position India as a globally competitive semiconductor design and innovation hub. By combining proven tapeout capabilities, end-to-end ASIC engineering, systematic talent development, and indigenous IP creation, the company aims to demonstrate that complex, production-quality silicon and globally competitive semiconductor technologies can be designed, developed, and commercialized from India, contributing to the national objectives of Atmanirbhar Bharat and a stronger domestic semiconductor ecosystem.
𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐲 𝐢𝐧𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐞𝐝 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐮𝐩𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐬 𝐛𝐲 𝐣𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 WhatsApp Channel now! 👈📲
𝑭𝒐𝒍𝒍𝒐𝒘 𝑶𝒖𝒓 𝑺𝒐𝒄𝒊𝒂𝒍 𝑴𝒆𝒅𝒊𝒂 𝑷𝒂𝒈𝒆𝐬 👉 Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram
