AP to host India's largest R&D unit in semicon

Vijayawada/Visakhapatnam: SmartDV, a leading supplier of semiconductor design and verification of intellectual property (IP), is setting up India's largest R&D facility in semiconductor design and analog IPs in Chittoor district of Andhra Pradesh.

The company will make use of its specialisation in high-quality standard/custom protocol verification and design IP used in several networking, storage, automotive, MIPI and display chip projects all over the world.

SmartDV's main focus is in semiconductor IPs as it is involved in developing new technologies and exports/licenses to companies like Apple, Google, Intel, Sony, Broadcom, Qualcomm. SmartDV products are used in automotive, communication, space, avionics and allied electronics fields.

A Bengalure-based technology firm, founded by a native of Chittoor with experience at Intel, HCL and other industries after passing out from NIT-Trichy, Deepak Kumar Tala, Managing Director of the company, says their IPs are internationally-acclaimed.

In an exclusive interview, he told Bizz Buzz on Wednesday that for the Chittoor facility construction work started on June 9 and they have set a target to make it operational by July, 2023. Once it becomes fully operational after a few years, it will generate over 3,000 jobs for the local youth. He said they will train and recruit locals after passing out their diploma, graduation and post-graduation.

The promoter is investing around Rs70 crore to Rs100 crore on the facility. SmartDV operates SmartDV Technologies India Private Limited, SmartDV Ematic India Private Limited and SmartDV IP Solutions Private Limited--all are into hardware/semiconductors.

He further added that "our family selected Chittoor district basically as it is my parents' home district and it has remained backward for long without attracting much investment in industries. My mind was getting agitated whenever I was finding jobless educated youth in the area during my visits to my native place."

With the new campus coming up in the rural area, he said they are hoping to develop Chittoor district and provide employment to the local talent youth, who would otherwise need to travel long distances to get a job. In addition to regular employment to 3,000 employees, they will provide indirect employment to about 10,000. This location could potentially become a technology hub opening up opportunities for other technology companies to invest in Andhra Pradesh in the next few years thereby contributing to the GDP for the State in the long run, he said.

Tala said in India most companies are service oriented like Wipro and Infosys and they are very much impressed with the response from the State Government led by Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy to welcome investments in innovation. He said he recently met IT and Industry Minister Gudivada Amarnath and explained to him about their ambitious plan for the future.

He said to make India a manufacturing hub, the semiconductor electronic chips are being imported from Europe, Japan, Korea and Taiwan. From a long-term point of view, he emphasised the growing need to develop analog and digital IPs from fab. He said fundamental building blocks are required to allow digital and analog logic to be implemented onto a chip.