Applied Materials has announced a landmark investment of ₹4,17,000 crore ($5 billion) in India over the next decade, centred on a 140-acre semiconductor research park and a tenfold expansion of its domestic supply chain.

This move positions India as a critical hub in the global semiconductor ecosystem, aligning with the government’s Semiconductor Mission 2.0.

Applied Materials confirmed that the investment will be spread across ten years, with the centrepiece being a new 140-acre advanced research and development park in India. This facility will strengthen the company’s R&D capabilities, introduce new semiconductor technologies, and provide infrastructure such as cleanrooms and engineering labs to collaborate with suppliers and customers.

Prabu Raja, president of Applied Materials’ Semiconductor Products Group, stated that the company will expand its India-based supply chain by ten times, bringing more of its global suppliers into the country. This expansion is expected to create opportunities for domestic suppliers and encourage international semiconductor equipment manufacturers to establish operations in India.

Applied Materials’ workforce in India has already grown fourfold in the past decade to over 7,000 employees. The company plans to further expand its R&D workforce, focusing on developing semiconductor talent through training and collaboration. India’s growing engineering base will be leveraged to accelerate product development and innovation.

The company has an established presence in Bangalore, where it has been engaged in semiconductor equipment design, testing, validation, and R&D. The new research park will build on these capabilities and integrate India more deeply into the global semiconductor manufacturing network.

The announcement coincided with Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurating SEMICON India 2026 in New Delhi. The three-day event has drawn around 600 companies from 52 countries, including ASML, Lam Research, Tokyo Electron, Teradyne, Infineon, NXP, Micron, and Applied Materials.

PM Modi emphasised India’s role as a trusted partner in global semiconductor supply chains, particularly as companies seek to diversify away from Taiwan and China.

India’s semiconductor consumption is projected to reach as much as ₹9,16,000 crore ($110 billion) by 2030, up from ₹3,74,000 crore to ₹4,16,000 crore ($45–50 billion) in 2025. The government has committed more than ₹1,75,000 crore ($21 billion) across two major incentive programs to support the sector.

Under the first phase, 12 projects worth ₹1,64,000 crore were approved, covering silicon and compound semiconductor fabs, display manufacturing, and advanced packaging. Three of these projects have already begun commercial production.

Additionally, 24 semiconductor design projects have been approved under the Design Linked Incentive scheme, while 105 Start-Ups and MSMEs have received support for electronic design automation tools. Despite these advances, India has yet to produce chips from a large-scale fabrication plant, with the Tata Electronics–PSMC fab in Gujarat delayed by nearly two years.

Applied Materials’ investment therefore targets the critical supporting layer of India’s semiconductor ecosystem—equipment engineering, R&D, and supplier capabilities—rather than direct chip fabrication. This complements India’s broader push to build a complete semiconductor value chain, spanning design, materials, chemicals, gases, packaging, and workforce development.

The investment also reflects the global context of semiconductor demand, driven by artificial intelligence, data centres, and high-performance computing. With geopolitical tensions reshaping supply chains, India’s positioning as a reliable partner offers companies like Applied Materials a strategic advantage.

Agencies