Intel Corporation CEO Lip-Bu Tan has urged India to focus on bringing back its top semiconductor engineers and chip design leaders working in the US and other global technology hubs, saying talent repatriation will be critical to building world-class semiconductor manufacturing and AI capabilities in the country.
In an exclusive interaction following his meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Tan described India’s semiconductor policy as “well thought through” and reaffirmed Intel’s commitment to supporting the national mission. He said India already ranks among the world’s top semiconductor talent hubs despite being a middle-income economy, underscoring the depth of its engineering ecosystem.
India’s chip design strength, Tan noted, is already evident, with thousands of engineers supporting global majors such as Intel, Qualcomm, and Texas Instruments. The next step, he said, is to attract experienced technologists and entrepreneurs back to India to build globally competitive semiconductor companies. Citing China’s success, Tan emphasized that repatriating talent helped accelerate its semiconductor ecosystem and reduce reliance on external supply chains.
According to Tan, India’s success in artificial intelligence and semiconductors will be determined by scale, the ability to identify and nurture local leaders, and the capability to grow home-grown innovations into global platforms. He conveyed this perspective directly to Prime Minister Modi and IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, highlighting India’s opportunity to emerge as a serious global semiconductor contender.
Tan described his discussions with Modi as “very inspiring,” covering semiconductors, compute, and AI, including Intel’s memorandum of understanding with the Tata Group. Under the partnership, Intel and Tata will collaborate on advanced chip packaging in India, with output aimed at next-generation AI PCs. Tan said both sides are particularly enthusiastic about the AI PC opportunity, which he described as potentially “bigger than the internet” in terms of impact.
Intel also plans to expand its India operations across design services, advanced packaging, and engineering functions. While Intel has previously been cautious about large-scale manufacturing investments in India, the Tata partnership—anchored by the $11-billion Dholera semiconductor fab and a chip assembly and packaging facility—signals a shift toward deeper ecosystem participation.
Tan’s call to repatriate semiconductor talent highlights a structural truth: India’s biggest advantage in the chip race is not subsidies or fabs, but people. While manufacturing infrastructure takes years to mature, experienced engineers can immediately compress learning cycles, improve yield, and anchor complex supply chains. If India can successfully bring back senior chip architects, process engineers, and startup founders, it could accelerate its transition from a design services hub to a full-stack semiconductor ecosystem—positioning itself as a strategic alternative in an increasingly fragmented global chip landscape.
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