India positioned to lead global semiconductor drive from the front: Intel

New Delhi: India has positioned itself not merely to participate in the semiconductor sector but also to lead the global expansion from the front, driven by a surge in agentic artificial intelligence and a strong domestic design base, a senior Intel executive said on Thursday.

Speaking at the SEMICON India 2026, Srinivasan Iyengar, Senior Vice President and General Manager of the Central Engineering Group at Intel, said the country is advancing on a journey from "good to great", propelled by a vast talent pool, academic innovation, and a growing base of deep-tech startups.

Also read: SEMICON India 2026: India’s chip story has moved from files to factories, says PM Modi


"Semiconductors are very nucleus to the growth and what we do on a daily basis, especially with the agentic AI world out here. And it's really amazing to see how India has actually fuelled itself to not just be a part of it, but to sort of lead this from the front. I think India is positioned extremely well to do that," Iyengar said.

Iyengar noted that India already accounts for 20 per cent-one-fifth-of the global chip design and VLSI (very large-scale integration) workforce, with an indigenous base of over 85,000 skilled professionals.

He highlighted that the academic ecosystem is laying a robust foundation, with more than 355 universities offering advanced programmes in semiconductor and VLSI design and academic institutions having generated over 250 chips.

Also read: India sees $11–12 bn chip investment interest under Semicon 2.0: Ashwini Vaishnaw

Underlining Intel's long-standing presence of more than four decades in the country, Iyengar said major growth engines of the company-including client and edge, data centre, networking, artificial intelligence, and purpose-built silicon business - maintain a thriving footprint across Bengaluru and other centres in India.

Lauding Semicon India, Iyengar said, "Intel would love to partner and collaborate further on this to take this journey forward for the next 10 years."