US-based Applied Materials plans $400 mn investment in India

Bengaluru, June 22 US-based semiconductor company Applied Materials on Thursday announced plans to build a collaborative engineering centre in India with a gross investment of $400 million over four years.

The announcement came after Gary E. Dickerson, President and CEO of Applied Materials, met Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the US and discussed ways to strengthen the semiconductor ecosystem in India.

The centre will be designed to bring together Applied engineers, leading global and domestic suppliers, and top research and academic institutions, enabling them to collaborate in one location with a common goal of accelerating development of semiconductor equipment sub-systems and components.

It will also aim to serve as a catalyst for the training and development of future semiconductor industry talent, as well as open up new opportunities for India to play an expanded role in the global chip ecosystem, said the company.

"Applied is excited to build upon our 20 years of success in India by creating a facility where the country's top engineers, suppliers and researchers can work side-by-side to develop new innovations," said Prabu Raja, President of the Semiconductor Products Group at Applied Materials.

In its first five years of operation, the centre is expected to support more than $2 billion of planned investments and create at least 500 new advanced engineering jobs along with potentially another 2,500 jobs in the manufacturing ecosystem.