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Semicon India eyes chip deals; AI leaders seek slowdown
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The government is pushing supply chain partnerships at Semicon India 2026 to help local players. This and more in today’s ETtech Top 5.
Also in the letter:
■ Indian spacetech push
■ Amazon’s festive expansion
■ OnEMI to raise fresh funding
PM Modi to inaugurate Semicon India 2026
The government is looking to connect Indian semiconductor companies with global firms at the upcoming Semicon India 2026 summit in New Delhi beginning September 17, as it pushes the country’s role in the global chip supply chain.
Driving the news: The government has identified Indian equipment, sub-assembly, and component makers that will hold roundtable discussions with their counterparts from the US, Japan, Singapore, South Korea, Malaysia, and Europe at the three-day event.
Tell me more: Malaysia has about 30% of the global OSAT (Outsourced Semiconductor Assembly and Test) market, while South Korea is a leader in the production of memory chips.
Japan holds a significant share of the global upstream semiconductor materials production line, while the US leads in chip design and core semiconductor IP.
What’s happening? PM Modi is expected to hold a roundtable with the executives of global chip companies on September 16.
Quote, unquote: "Indian firms have been identified for attending the curated roundtables, and are being supported in forging partnerships with entities from partner countries who are stalwarts in their category... The idea is to accelerate matchmaking among interested parties," one official told ET.
(L-R) Elon Musk, Dario Amodei, and Sam Altman
Top tech leaders, including Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, Microsoft boss Satya Nadella, xAI founder Elon Musk, and Google DeepMind CEO Demis Hassabis, are calling for a more careful approach to AI developmentamid growing concerns over the technology’s risks.
Who said what
Dario Amodei: "We must slow the pace at which we improve the capabilities of AI models. Progress will still seem fast, and we must make wise use of the time we gain."
Sam Altman: "...no amount of American competitive pressure should justify recklessness, or let capabilities get ahead of alignment and monitoring."
Demis Hassabis: "The details need working through, but the direction is correct… This is also why we recently put out our proposal for an industry-wide standards body for frontier AI."
Satya Nadella: "Any pursuit of superintelligence has to be grounded in the core principle that if the AI we build is not helping humanity and under human control, it's not worth pursuing."
Elon Musk: "Dario is right. I’ve been sounding the alarm on AI for a long time."
Trump pushes back: US President Donald Trump rejected calls to slow AI development, saying critics were raising concerns about scenarios that "won’t happen." He said the US must maintain its lead over China because "whoever wins AI wins."
China reacts: Meanwhile, China’s state-backed Global Times criticised Amodei’s proposal as a "Cold War playbook" aimed at curbing China’s AI development. China’s foreign ministry called for an "open, inclusive and benevolent approach" to AI and warned against confrontation and malicious competition.
The debate has intensified ever since Jacob Coxon, one of the Anthropic researchers, resigned and issued warnings regarding the technology potentially killing all humans by the end of the decade. He was backed by fellow AI researchers.
OnEMI Technology Solutions, parent of the digital lending platform Kissht, is looking to raise fresh capital just four months after its IPO.
What’s happening? The company’s board will meet on September 17 to consider raising funds through equity shares, warrants, or convertible instruments, according to a regulatory filing.
Deal details: OnEMI had raised Rs 850 crore four months ago in its IPO. The latest filing did not disclose the size of the proposed fresh fundraise, the investors who may participate, or the intended use of the proceeds.
Financials: Operating revenue rose 45% on-year to Rs 670 crore in the June quarter, while net profit increased 59% to Rs 95 crore. Kissht's assets under management (AUM) rose 61% to Rs 8,001 crore at June-end, while loan disbursements increased 37% to Rs 3,812 crore during the quarter.
Info Edge, the parent company of Naukri.com, has appointed former Adobe India MD Naresh Chand Gupta as a non-executive independent director and Himanshu Agarwal as its new CFO amid a leadership reshuffle.
Leadership changes:
Amazon is expanding its logistics network with 20 new fulfilment centres, six sort centres, and 150 last-mile delivery stations across Raipur, Ranchi, Hassan, Meerut, and Varanasi, among other cities, ahead of the festive season.
By the numbers: The expansion will take Amazon’s storage capacity up 50% to 64 million cubic feet.
Quick commerce push: The development is part of Amazon's recently announced investment of over Rs 2,800 crore to strengthen its logistics and operations network, focussing on its quick commerce arm Amazon Now.
Why it matters: The expansion is aimed at strengthening Amazon's network in tier 2 and 3 cities as the ecommerce industry taps into demand beyond metros.
Quote, unquote: "We are expanding access to a wider selection of products across our broader network, with delivery options designed to meet customer needs — from delivery in minutes through Amazon Now, to a few hours, same-day or next-day," said Abhinav Singh, vice president – operations, India, APAC, Middle East, Türkiye, and Africa, Amazon.
More dark stores: Amazon Now, the quick commerce service, also added more dark stores, expanding its network to 55 cities with 750 stores as of September, more than doubling its reach.
Also Read: Ecommerce festive sales set to rise almost 30%, quick commerce to gain share: Analysts
Japan is emerging as an important overseas market for Indian spacetech startups as it looks to strengthen its space and defence capabilities.
Tell me more: Startups such as Digantara Industries, Bellatrix Aerospace, Xovian Aerospace, SatNxt, and Manastu Space are seeing growing interest from Japanese companies.
For instance: Bellatrix is already manufacturing satellite propulsion products for two Japanese companies and has partnered with Astroscale for space debris removal.
Verbatim: "We are not doing many pilots now. Both the relationships are under commercial contracts, and we are currently in the manufacturing phase," Bellatrix cofounder Yashas Karanam told ET.
What’s next: Karanam expects Japan to eventually account for 10-15% of the business for India’s broader spacetech industry, although the US and Europe will remain larger markets.
Also in the letter:
■ Indian spacetech push
■ Amazon’s festive expansion
■ OnEMI to raise fresh funding
Govt eyes supply chain matchmaking at Semicon 2026
The government is looking to connect Indian semiconductor companies with global firms at the upcoming Semicon India 2026 summit in New Delhi beginning September 17, as it pushes the country’s role in the global chip supply chain.
Driving the news: The government has identified Indian equipment, sub-assembly, and component makers that will hold roundtable discussions with their counterparts from the US, Japan, Singapore, South Korea, Malaysia, and Europe at the three-day event.
Tell me more: Malaysia has about 30% of the global OSAT (Outsourced Semiconductor Assembly and Test) market, while South Korea is a leader in the production of memory chips.
Japan holds a significant share of the global upstream semiconductor materials production line, while the US leads in chip design and core semiconductor IP.
What’s happening? PM Modi is expected to hold a roundtable with the executives of global chip companies on September 16.
Quote, unquote: "Indian firms have been identified for attending the curated roundtables, and are being supported in forging partnerships with entities from partner countries who are stalwarts in their category... The idea is to accelerate matchmaking among interested parties," one official told ET.
Global tech leaders call for slowdown in AI development
Top tech leaders, including Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, Microsoft boss Satya Nadella, xAI founder Elon Musk, and Google DeepMind CEO Demis Hassabis, are calling for a more careful approach to AI developmentamid growing concerns over the technology’s risks.
Who said what
Dario Amodei: "We must slow the pace at which we improve the capabilities of AI models. Progress will still seem fast, and we must make wise use of the time we gain."
Sam Altman: "...no amount of American competitive pressure should justify recklessness, or let capabilities get ahead of alignment and monitoring."
Demis Hassabis: "The details need working through, but the direction is correct… This is also why we recently put out our proposal for an industry-wide standards body for frontier AI."
Satya Nadella: "Any pursuit of superintelligence has to be grounded in the core principle that if the AI we build is not helping humanity and under human control, it's not worth pursuing."
Elon Musk: "Dario is right. I’ve been sounding the alarm on AI for a long time."
Trump pushes back: US President Donald Trump rejected calls to slow AI development, saying critics were raising concerns about scenarios that "won’t happen." He said the US must maintain its lead over China because "whoever wins AI wins."
China reacts: Meanwhile, China’s state-backed Global Times criticised Amodei’s proposal as a "Cold War playbook" aimed at curbing China’s AI development. China’s foreign ministry called for an "open, inclusive and benevolent approach" to AI and warned against confrontation and malicious competition.
The debate has intensified ever since Jacob Coxon, one of the Anthropic researchers, resigned and issued warnings regarding the technology potentially killing all humans by the end of the decade. He was backed by fellow AI researchers.
Kissht parent OnEMI to consider fresh funding
OnEMI Technology Solutions, parent of the digital lending platform Kissht, is looking to raise fresh capital just four months after its IPO.
What’s happening? The company’s board will meet on September 17 to consider raising funds through equity shares, warrants, or convertible instruments, according to a regulatory filing.
Deal details: OnEMI had raised Rs 850 crore four months ago in its IPO. The latest filing did not disclose the size of the proposed fresh fundraise, the investors who may participate, or the intended use of the proceeds.
Financials: Operating revenue rose 45% on-year to Rs 670 crore in the June quarter, while net profit increased 59% to Rs 95 crore. Kissht's assets under management (AUM) rose 61% to Rs 8,001 crore at June-end, while loan disbursements increased 37% to Rs 3,812 crore during the quarter.
Info Edge rejigs leadership team
Info Edge, the parent company of Naukri.com, has appointed former Adobe India MD Naresh Chand Gupta as a non-executive independent director and Himanshu Agarwal as its new CFO amid a leadership reshuffle.
Leadership changes:
- Gupta’s appointment will be effective October 1 for five years, subject to shareholder approval.
- Agarwal will take charge as CFO from September 17 and will also serve as a whole-time director.
- Interim CFO Ambarish Raghuvanshi will step down on September 16 but will remain with the company as a finance adviser until October 31 to support the transition.
Amazon adds 20 fulfilment centres ahead of festive season
Amazon is expanding its logistics network with 20 new fulfilment centres, six sort centres, and 150 last-mile delivery stations across Raipur, Ranchi, Hassan, Meerut, and Varanasi, among other cities, ahead of the festive season.
By the numbers: The expansion will take Amazon’s storage capacity up 50% to 64 million cubic feet.
Quick commerce push: The development is part of Amazon's recently announced investment of over Rs 2,800 crore to strengthen its logistics and operations network, focussing on its quick commerce arm Amazon Now.
Why it matters: The expansion is aimed at strengthening Amazon's network in tier 2 and 3 cities as the ecommerce industry taps into demand beyond metros.
Quote, unquote: "We are expanding access to a wider selection of products across our broader network, with delivery options designed to meet customer needs — from delivery in minutes through Amazon Now, to a few hours, same-day or next-day," said Abhinav Singh, vice president – operations, India, APAC, Middle East, Türkiye, and Africa, Amazon.
More dark stores: Amazon Now, the quick commerce service, also added more dark stores, expanding its network to 55 cities with 750 stores as of September, more than doubling its reach.
Also Read: Ecommerce festive sales set to rise almost 30%, quick commerce to gain share: Analysts
Japan emerges as a new market for Indian spacetech startups
Japan is emerging as an important overseas market for Indian spacetech startups as it looks to strengthen its space and defence capabilities.
Tell me more: Startups such as Digantara Industries, Bellatrix Aerospace, Xovian Aerospace, SatNxt, and Manastu Space are seeing growing interest from Japanese companies.
For instance: Bellatrix is already manufacturing satellite propulsion products for two Japanese companies and has partnered with Astroscale for space debris removal.
Verbatim: "We are not doing many pilots now. Both the relationships are under commercial contracts, and we are currently in the manufacturing phase," Bellatrix cofounder Yashas Karanam told ET.
What’s next: Karanam expects Japan to eventually account for 10-15% of the business for India’s broader spacetech industry, although the US and Europe will remain larger markets.
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