Qualcomm Plans to Bring China Model to India, Supporting Local Semiconductor Ecosystem

Qualcomm, the US-based fabless chip maker, has announced plans to replicate its China model in India, supporting the local semiconductor ecosystem. By licensing technologies to local companies and startups, Qualcomm aims to bring volumes for production at semiconductor fabrication units expected to launch in India in the future. Savi Soin, Qualcomm’s newly-appointed India president, revealed the company’s intention to bring business to India if fabs or Outsourced Semiconductor Assembly and Testing (OSATs) are established in the country. Qualcomm plans to bring its mentoring program for startups and scale to India, similar to what it did in China.
Qualcomm is considering leveraging the design-linked incentive (DLI) and production-linked incentive schemes offered by the Indian government to manufacture chips for the global market. Soin emphasized the strategic importance of these schemes for Qualcomm’s business in India. The company is open to sharing its design expertise with manufacturers to create better connectivity products, giving rise to opportunities in the fixed wireless access space. Additionally, Qualcomm is exploring partnerships with system integrators and telcos in India to provide packaged solutions for private 5G deployments.
According to Soin, Qualcomm is in talks with surveillance camera providers to enhance intelligence in the home and enterprise sectors, focusing on edge AI use cases and models that do not rely on cloud storage. The chip maker expects to see increased business from the automotive sector, as car manufacturers aim to introduce high-tech, smartphone-like solutions in vehicles. Qualcomm is engaging with original equipment manufacturers in India to help them rapidly adopt telematics, digital cockpit, and entertainment solutions, similar to the developments in China.
With its plans to support the local semiconductor ecosystem and explore various sectors in India, Qualcomm aims to contribute to the country’s growing technology landscape and seize emerging opportunities.