Business Leaders Reject Isolated Tech Races at Semiconductor Summit

Speed, ease of doing business, and teamwork across countries matter most for India to grow its chip industry, according to industry leaders speaking at a summit in Chennai. Experts from four companies took part in a panel discussion titled 'From Design to Fab: Can India Build a Complete Semiconductor Ecosystem' during The Hindu Semiconductor Summit 2026 on Tuesday (October 27, 2026).

Industry Roles And Challenges

The panel brought together representatives from Applied Materials India, Teradyne, Krypton (India) Solutions, and Monk9 Tech Private Limited, which all handle different parts of the chip supply chain. Applied Materials provides fabrication equipment, Teradyne supplies test equipment, Krypton builds and integrates electronics, and Monk9 Tech works on chip design and fabrication. Dr. Suraj Rengarajan of Applied Materials India stated that aiming for complete vertical integration of the whole industry on home soil may not be fully possible or needed. He noted that India entered the sector late but has strong design talent on one side and a large consumer base on the other, meaning the missing link is connecting the two. Divya Gurudutt of Krypton Solutions pointed out that while local suppliers are growing, many are new and it will take years before the ecosystem can run purely on domestic supply. She shared an example of how hard it is to import a key chemical with a shelf life of just three months, and urged firms to focus strictly on quality control to build trust in Indian hardware.

Global Collaboration

Panelists also pushed back against narrow nationalistic narratives in tech development, highlighting the industry's history of global teamwork. Dr. Marmik Bhatt of Monk9 Tech noted that major global players like Qualcomm work with firms across the world, including India, because chipmaking uses many different fields and cannot happen in just one country. He called for more local chip entrepreneurs to take risks and build products. Alpa Sood of Teradyne stressed the need for thorough product testing and dedicated investments in research and development, urging the sector to rely on existing markets, learn from global partners, and train local workers quickly.

Context

Semiconductors are microscopic silicon chips that power almost all modern electronics, from smartphones and cars to defense equipment and medical devices. Because making these advanced chips requires complex global supply chains and billions of dollars in equipment, countries around the world are rushing to build local chip factories while still relying heavily on international partners.