How vital is India to Applied Materials after two decades of operations in the country? From expansion plans to navigating rare-earth shortages, Dr Suraj Rengarajan of Applied Materials speaks with EFY’s Vidushi Saxena about India’s growing potential to emerge as a semiconductor hub.
Q. Can you briefly tell our readers about Applied Materials?
A. Applied Materials is a global leader in semiconductor and display equipment. We are a Fortune 500 company headquartered in the Bay Area, California, and have been operating in India for over 20 years. Like many multinational companies, we began with back-office operations, but we have grown substantially over time. Today, we have a presence in five locations across India, and a significant portion of our company’s design work is carried out from our India offices.
Q. What are your products?
A. We make machines for the semiconductor industry. While companies like Intel, Samsung, Toshiba, and Micron focus on making chips, we provide the machines that enable them to manufacture those chips. Our customers rely on our equipment to produce the chips that power the technology around us.
Q. What does your team in India do?
A. We do not have manufacturing operations in India, as the plants are in Houston and Singapore. However, all the design work that supports our manufacturing is carried out from our India offices.
Q. How is Applied Materials contributing to the India Semiconductor Mission (ISM)?
A: As I said, we have been in India for more than 20 years, and during this time, we have worked hard to strengthen semiconductor manufacturing in the country. India has a strong presence in very large scale integration (VLSI) design, with about 20 per cent of global VLSI design happening here. However, only a small portion of semiconductor manufacturing currently takes place in India.
Applied Materials has collaborated with the government on policy and advocacy and has invested in infrastructure. We have established a lab in Bengaluru with approximately 6000 square feet (approximately 557.42 square metres) of clean room space, which we call the India Validation Center. This facility allows us to deploy our tools locally and provide engineers with hands-on exposure to design and validation processes. We also work closely with suppliers, universities, and government agencies to help expand semiconductor manufacturing in India.
Q. Companies are currently facing a rare-earth challenge. How are you planning to address this?
A. This is a major issue, especially for semiconductors. For instance, every motor requires neodymium, and sourcing it is becoming increasingly critical and difficult. We are approaching this challenge through Applied Ventures, the venture capital arm of Applied Materials. We collaborate with companies focused on developing solutions, such as more efficient, cost-effective metal extraction. Both in India and globally, companies are exploring ways to recover valuable materials from discarded devices. For example, extracting metals from old iPhones. There are multiple approaches to tackling this challenge, and we aim to address it through technology, with Applied Ventures playing a central role.
Q. As you said that you design in India, do you face any challenges in doing that?
A: I would not describe them as challenges. It is more about a learning curve. As we take on increasingly advanced work, the level of capability required rises as well. Our focus is on continuously building that capability in our people. For new hires, the key question is how we can strengthen their semiconductor knowledge so they can be productive from day one. After hiring, it is about how quickly we can train them, accelerate their learning, and enable them to contribute effectively. Ideally, within six months to a year, they should deliver meaningful results. The goal is to shorten that time to contribution.
Q. Can you tell me more about how you work with universities and how students can reach out to the company?
A. Our engagement with universities happens on multiple fronts. First is hiring, which is common across companies. We actively recruit new college graduates and interns from campuses, working with tier-one, tier-two, and tier-three institutions as needed. Second, we run numerous R&D programs. Wherever there is a semiconductor need, we collaborate with universities that have the relevant capabilities and infrastructure. For example, if a project involves plasma, we partner with colleges that have the necessary expertise and facilities to execute it. One such initiative is a programme where we bring industry problems to universities, such as developing a specific material, coating, or sensor and then create a statement of work to collaborate on solutions. Third, we participate in several consortia. IIT Bombay has SEMICS, a semiconductor technology centre, where we are actively involved. We are also an industry affiliate at IISC. Our engagement with universities encompasses hiring, R&D collaboration, and active participation in the broader semiconductor ecosystem.
Q. Do you have any expansion plans in India, any long-term vision, or any partnerships you want to talk about?
A. While we do not discuss specific numbers, Applied Materials is committed to growing in India and leveraging the country on multiple fronts. We aim to harness talent by bringing more expertise and capability here. At the same time, we want to engage with the supply base: of the 1000 companies in India, around 600 to 700 are suppliers, and we work with them to build and strengthen the semiconductor ecosystem. And, how can we work with those suppliers and develop that ecosystem? That is the second focus area. The third is working with academia, with the goal of partnering with universities to build capability. These are the areas where we plan to expand and invest significantly.
