India has ascended steeply on the preference index of global companies outsourcing chip design beyond their homeland. In 2007, the total design market in India was nearly $6 billion - 81% of the revenues were in the area of embedded software followed by 13% from VLSI design and 6% from hardware/board design. (Source: "India semiconductor and embedded design service industry (2007-2010): Market, technology and ecosystem analysis). Countries outsourcing to India are spread across US, Europe, Japan and even Latin America, with an equally encouraging business coming from the Indian electronic original device manufacturers.
Chip design industry
The Indian chip design industry emerged from the US chip manufacturers setting up captive design centers in India. However the International companies are today outsourcing their designs to IP developing Indian companies that can successfully:
· Perform end-to-end chip design on client-given specifications for high-volume manufacture
· Offer silicon engineering services that include testing, assembly, failure analysis, product engineering, yield enhancement and packaging
· Provide services for the development of standards based IP and reusable blocks.
· Execute entire chip design cycles
The industry too is transforming from fabrication to the much-hyped ‘fabless’ model of ASIC companies offering design, verification and manufacturing services. Bitten by the nano bug and with shrinking sizes of electronic devices, large complex designs can now be etched onto a tiny silicon die as large a thumbnail.
Game points – the USPs
The presence of the prestigious Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) and other world-class technology universities ensure a smooth inflow of talented IC Designers, architects and electronic engineers. These professionals possess skills covering the entire gamut from design, layout to testing and verification of silicon wafers. Corporate investments towards building superior training and research facilities in India offer bigger avenues for professionals. The electronics and computer engineers can specialize in areas of embedded software design, digital design, analog and mixed signal design, tool simulation and computer architecture. The designers are able to create attributes of low power consumption, less area usage, higher efficiency, testability, speed and yield, within a device at a very physical level of realization.
Similarly, the expanding networks of special economic zones and IT parks in strategic cities in India offer higher connectivity to markets, proximity to talent and world-class operating infrastructure. A trend catching up fast is of small, high-end design boutiques focusing on specific areas in VLSI design or board architecting.
Cost of hiring and retaining talent and establishing chip design infrastructure in India is relatively cheap and well supported by Government policies. The industry at a very low outlay is successfully creating value through innovation.
You can reach Praveen Acharya at kpitin@kpitcummins.com
