India accelerating as a hotspot for chip-level innovation: Samsung Semiconductor India Research

Samsung Semiconductor India Research (SSIR) is a subsidiary of Samsung Electronics. It enables innovation in hardware development and software-powered solutions in semiconductors.

Here, Balajee Sowrirajan, CVP and MD, Samsung Semiconductor India Research (SSIR), tells us what makes India a key innovation hub. Excerpts:

DQ: What makes India a key innovation hub for Samsung Semiconductor India Research?

 

Balajee Sowrirajan: India is a destination for building R&D centers owing to the technology, talent, success stories around innovation generating from these centres. However, the long-term perspective of product development should be appreciated and with more government incentives and active participation from Indian corporates, India is all set to become a global innovation hub.

 

SSIR has emerged strongly with its product portfolio development over the years coupled with the growing capabilities in semiconductor technologies, thereby witnessing multifold growth in India with increasing headcount as well. Samsung Semiconductor India is a vital innovation hub and a key driver of the company's growth, with a breadth of expertise available in circuit design, IP design, SoC design, embedded and communication software that is encompassing the complete software stack.

The technological prowess spans from end-end product planning architecture to product qualification. The state-of- the art labs located in the Bengaluru office are used for image sensors and memory products qualification. These labs aid in verifying the cutting edge innovations and research from India to create products for the world.

The talent pool comprises experts from the semiconductor industry and fresh talent from leading campuses like IITs, BITs, IISC and NITs.  SSIR has been driving innovation across system LSI Exynos platform, CMOS image sensors, memory solutions, and foundry platform development. Market segment products in the areas of camera solutions and mobile processors offers premium mobile imaging experiences.

 

DQ: What, according to you, is the next big trend in the chip industry?

 

Balajee Sowrirajan: The semiconductor industry is ever changing with the evolution of intelligence of machines and things. Semiconductors are now being harnessed to create more connected and intelligent offerings across diverse industries. Driven by proliferating new-age technology needs, hyper-data, hyper-connectivity, hyper-sensors, and hyper-intelligence will unlock the true potential of semiconductors at various levels.

 

Interesting to note that the increasing mobile usage in the country, coupled with the need for high computational power, increased storage requirements due to evolved multimedia applications and high-end sensors for image processing is accelerating India as a hotspot for chip-level innovation. Today, even an entry level smartphone needs AI to stand out in the market. Many industrial applications in India also require high computational power and edge computing. 

Currently, the country is also a potential market for autonomous vehicles, which requires high performance localized computing power while the automotives stressing on high-end infotainment systems. The Covid-19 induced demand for cloud computing has attracted several players to set up data centers in India, which require computation and storage.

With the emergence of smart cities, smart homes and smart factories, there is tremendous opportunity for semiconductor companies to create breakthrough IoT innovations. In fact, specific industries like healthcare and automotive, IoT can even save lives making this space promising. The engineers at SSIR, with multiple patents granted, and in the application stage, have developed technologies across all these growing segments.

For most semiconductor companies, deep research will help in building new, exciting, and sustainable capabilities that will reshape our lives for the better. Driving the performance of next-gen devices to propel cutting-edge technologies for a more sustainable future, these tiny powerhouses are the need of the hour to keep the modern world connected and running.

The upcoming technological developments offer great promise for the future and hold opportunities for new applications of semiconductor technology within existing industries. With Government of India’s recent budget announcement of ‘Make AI in India and Make AI Work for India’, creation of cutting edge applications and scalable problem solutions in sectors such as agriculture, health, sustainable cities will thrive the semiconductor industry.