Micron Set to Launch India-Manufactured Chips in 2025

Micron, a leading player in DRAM production, has disclosed plans to release its first India-manufactured chips from the newly established Sanand facility in Gujarat starting next year, with exports expected by 2025.

Anand Ramamoorthy, the company's India Managing Director, made the announcement to the Economic Times during a side event where Micron revealed partnerships with higher education institutions in India.

Despite the rising domestic demand for semiconductors, the market in India remains relatively minor compared to the global landscape.

"No factory for India will ever be making only for India. It will be a small part, and the bulk of it will be for exports. A factory supporting India’s customers is a thing of convenience. But the factory becoming truly global in terms of turnaround time, cost structure, and quality speaks a lot more," Ramamoorthy explained.

The Sanand facility is primarily a chipset packaging unit that will supply semiconductors used in data centres, smartphones, notebooks, IoT devices, and automotive segments.

The local semiconductor demand is expected to hinge on the product offerings from upcoming domestic chip foundries, such as the Tata Group's joint venture with Taiwan's Powerchip Semiconductor Manufacturing Corporation.

Micron aims to cater to all sectors, yet demand and supply will vary based on inventory levels, turnaround times, pricing, and specific customer needs.

"We have to be very agile and nimble. It is not like if we make a chip today, it is pre-decided that it will be used in a specific sector. Those specifics can be moved very quickly. That is the beauty and challenge in our business," said Ramamoorthy.

In 2023, Micron announced its plan to establish a chip assembly unit in Sanand with an initial investment of $825 million (₹6,683 crores), which is projected to increase to $2.75 billion (₹22,314 crores).

Micron's workforce in India currently stands at 4,000 employees across research centres in Bangalore and Hyderabad, representing 10% of its global staff. The company plans to increase this number to 5,000 and anticipates creating approximately 15,000 indirect jobs over the coming years.

Training for Micron’s R&D personnel in India is conducted across its facilities in the US, Japan, and China. The firm continues to focus on hiring fresh college graduates, who constitute 30% of its R&D workforce in India.

"The interesting part here is that talent shortage is a global phenomenon. We tend to say India has a talent shortage. But that is not the case. This is true for all countries. Cybersecurity, semiconductors and others are niche emerging sectors that will always have a global supply shortage in terms of talent," Ramamoorthy remarked.