The semiconductor company sees India as both a key R&D hub and a growing market for smart infrastructure and connected technologies.
US-based semiconductor company Silicon Labs is increasing its investment in India, driven by opportunities in smart metering, Internet of Things (IoT) applications and research and development, according to Chief Technology Officer Daniel Cooley.
Speaking to ET ElectronicsWorld, Cooley said India plays a dual role for the company as both an engineering centre and a growth market. “For India, there are two main thrusts for the company. The first is we have a large R&D and IT center in Hyderabad. On the other hand, we see India as a very big growth market for the Internet of Things (IoT) for smart infrastructure, smart metering and consumer applications,” he said.
The Centre’s Revamped Distribution Sector Scheme (RDSS) aims to replace more than 25 crore legacy electricity meters with smart prepaid meters. Nearly 4.7 crore smart meters had been installed across the country as of March, according to the Ministry of Power.
Silicon Labs said it is seeing positive business momentum from smart meter deployments and consumer applications. In May, the company and Indian firm CyanConnode said they had shipped more than five lakh Wi-SUN-compliant communication modules for smart grid projects in India.
Cooley mentioned that Wi-SUN is increasingly being adopted as a standard for smart meter radio-frequency networks. He added that technologies such as Wi-SUN, Thread, ZigBee, Bluetooth and Wi-Fi continue to play an important role in IoT deployments.
Silicon Labs established its Hyderabad centre in 2020 through the acquisition of Redpine Signals and has since expanded the facility to more than 600–700 full-time and contractual employees. Cooley said the company continues to invest in both R&D and market development in India.
