Kurt Sievers, President and CEO of NXP Semiconductors met Honourable Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi at the Global CEO roundtable on 10th September 2024 on the eve of Semicon India 2024 to discuss the vision and roadmap for advancing India’s semiconductor ecosystem. The discussion broadly focused on the policy framework, current capabilities and gaps, opportunity for the global and Indian players, and various aspects of technology & innovation indeveloping semiconductor landscape.
India is on the right path to establish itself as one of the semiconductor majors in the world. Indian government’s comprehensive policies like PLI and DLI have created a conducive environment in the country. Many Indian and global companies’ commitment to invest is a testimony of it. NXP remains committed to grow and develop its research & development (R&D) strength in India.
The company plans to enhance its local R&D efforts and grow its operations by 2x in the next 4-5 years. NXP has always been committed to India with over 55 years of legacy, one of the largest Research & Development centres and 30% of its employees based out of India.
During his visit, Sievers also spoke at the Semicon India event highlighting NXP’s commitment to the Indian market and highlighted exciting growth trends in the country for electric vehicles, and for smart, connected devices like smart meters to further renewable energy efforts that help establish a more sustainable environment.
Mr. Sievers said “We have been committed to India for 55-years and we plan to increase our commitment by expanding our R&D operations in India twofold over a period of 4-5 years.”
Commenting on his meetings with the PM Modi, Mr. Sievers said: “It was a privilege to meet with the Prime Minister Modi once again to discuss India’s rapidly growing semiconductor ecosystem. Prime Minister Modi and the Indian government are very focused on growing the semiconductor ecosystem here and with our longtime presence in India we look forward to being an integral part of India’s technology growth story.”
He further said, “We believe India has the ambition, talent, deep expertise, and scalability to become a true global player. NXP has established a leading research and development legacy in India and will continue to strengthen research work through partnerships with top academic institutions pushing the boundaries in fields like RISCV, AI, and Quantum compute.”
NXP has been dedicated to advancing India’s startup ecosystem through the NXP India Tech Startup Challenge and the Semiconductor Startup Incubation and Acceleration Programs. By collaborating with partners like Invest India, MeitY, SFAL, Electropreneur Park, InCENSE, FabCI, and Xtreme Tech Challenge (XTC), NXP has already connected with over 1,000 startups.
NXP also boosts the talent ecosystem with its Women in Tech program, which garners interest and participation from over 8,000 B.Tech women students annually, and the NXP Campus Connect initiative, which offers fortnightly sessions on semiconductor education, has benefited over 12,000 students from different regions of India. Key design challenges, organized by NXP such as the Artificial Intelligence in Mobility (Smart Car Design Challenge), also stimulate tech interest among university students in India.
