The India Cellular & Electronics Association (ICEA), in partnership with IIT Bombay’s SemiX initiative, organized the India Fabless Semiconductor Design Acceleration Workshop titled “Building Market-Led, Product-Driven Fabless Capabilities in India” at the IIT Bombay campus.
The full-day event included a Leadership Roundtable on reaching 500 fabless companies, focused track sessions, and a concluding Blueprint discussion. Over 60 senior participants from government, semiconductor design firms, fabless startups, venture capital, incubators, academia, and ecosystem organizations took part in structured, results-oriented discussions aimed at strengthening India’s semiconductor product design ecosystem.
This workshop at IIT Bombay marks the first in a structured series of engagements that that ICEA will convene under the aegis of ICEA Semiconductor Product Design Leadership Forum, in partnership with leading academic and ecosystem institutions across the country. The objective of this ongoing series is to synergise and converge knowledge, market demand, capital formation, and execution pathways to build a strong, product-led semiconductor design ecosystem rooted in real market realities.
About The Workshop
India’s semiconductor ecosystem is entering a decisive phase. As fabrication and packaging initiatives under national semiconductor programmes progress toward operationalisation, it is essential that a strong pipeline of product-led, IP-owning fabless semiconductor companies develops in parallel.
Semiconductor fabrication capacity alone cannot secure long-term value capture unless complemented by robust domestic product design capabilities anchored in intellectual property ownership, system-level innovation, and global competitiveness.
India possesses significant semiconductor design talent. However, translating this talent into globally scaled fabless product companies requires sharper alignment with market realities, clearer visibility of demand, prioritisation of high-impact semiconductor products, and coordinated ecosystem support.
The workshop was therefore conceived as a platform to:
- Ground semiconductor product design in real domestic and global demand
- Provide product design companies with visibility into market requirements and validation expectations
- Align IP creation, capital formation, infrastructure, and policy frameworks
- Bring all relevant stakeholders onto one platform for structured, outcome-driven dialogue
ICEA Semiconductor Product Design Leadership Forum
The workshop was anchored under the ICEA Semiconductor Product Design Leadership Forum, chaired by Dr. Sandeep Kumar, Chief Executive, L&T Semiconductor Technologies.
The Forum’s objective is to enable India’s transition from design services to building successful 500-product-led, IP-owning fabless semiconductor companies by:
- Prioritising high-impact semiconductor product opportunities
- Anchoring design strategies in market demand and system-level requirements
- Strengthening validation infrastructure and design-to-manufacturing linkages
- Aligning venture capital and structured funding mechanisms with execution needs
- Converging industry, academia, and government around measurable outcomes
Shri Pankaj Mohindroo, Chairman, ICEA, said:
“India must now move decisively towards semiconductor product ownership. Our objective is to build globally competitive product-led, IP-owning companies across every major category where chips are deployed, from mobile and automotive to industrial, AI, power, and connectivity. Our core objective is to catalyse an ecosystem that enables the creation of 500 globally competitive semiconductor product design companies over the coming decade. We also have a national ambition to develop a mobile phone SoC that is designed for Indian demand and market realities. I appreciate IIT Bombay and SemiX for partnering with ICEA to host this inaugural workshop and for supporting an outcome-focused platform that brings industry, academia, capital, and government onto one table.”
Shri Sushil Pal, Joint Secretary, MeitY, Government of India, said:
“Chip design represents the largest value-adding segment of the semiconductor value chain and will be central to India’s technology leadership. Through the India Semiconductor Mission, we have made measurable progress, with multiple companies achieving advanced design milestones, and ISM 2.0 will further strengthen support for product-led semiconductor innovation. India must move beyond execution strength in coding and layout toward architectural ownership, system-level capability, and product vision. We will continue to enable access to design tools, risk-sharing capital, and market-linked opportunities so that Indian companies can build differentiated, globally competitive semiconductor products aligned to real demand and national priorities.”
Dr. Sandeep Kumar, Chair, ICEA Semiconductor Product Design Leadership Forum and Chief Executive, L&T Semiconductor Technologies, said:
“India has world-class semiconductor design talent, but value capture will depend on converting that talent into IP-owning, revenue-generating product companies. Investors are looking for market clarity, product focus, and scalable execution pathways — this Forum is designed to enable exactly that alignment. Through ICEA’s leadership in convening industry, capital, academia, and government — and with the strong partnership of IIT Bombay and SemiX — we are building a coordinated, outcome-driven platform to accelerate India’s product-led semiconductor ecosystem”
Prof. Swaroop Ganguly, Professor-in-charge, SemiX, IIT Bombay said:
“As an industry-facing academic centre, SemiX is pleased to partner with ICEA in the organization of this workshop, which addresses a critical part of the semiconductor industrial ecosystem for India, namely fabless product design. We expect that it will inspire thought and action towards collaborative innovation in this area.”
