Marvell’s India play: Driving global custom silicon

Marvell Technology, a leading innovator in semiconductor design, has been steadily deepening its footprint in India. Known for its high-performance computing, data infrastructure, and automotive silicon solutions, the company has been actively engaging with India’s transformative digital journey. With the government pushing to establish India as a semiconductor powerhouse through local fabs, OSAT facilities, and design-led innovation programs, Marvell sees a unique opportunity to expand its role in an emerging ecosystem that blends advanced R&D with large-scale manufacturing ambitions. Its latest initiatives in India span collaborations with OEMs on automotive electronics, supporting AI-driven data centers, and exploring partnerships to align cutting-edge semiconductor standards like AEC-Q100, ISO 26262, and ASPICE with local manufacturing workflows.

“We remain the foundational enabler of the digital footprint whether in data center cloud AI, carrier, or enterprise serving both India and global markets, without being confined to any single market or end customer” says Mr. Navin Bishnoi, Country Head, Marvell India

Marvell and India’s Growing Relevance

India is not yet a direct market for Marvell’s products. Instead, it serves as a deep pool of engineering excellence. Over 20% of Marvell’s workforce is based in India, with 1,700 engineers working across Pune, Bangalore, and Hyderabad. These hubs are integral to both hardware and software design ranging from chip architecture and custom silicon to firmware and embedded systems. India’s strength lies in its ability to provide highly skilled talent at scale, combined with an environment that ensures IP security, regulatory ease, and long-term stability. For Marvell, this makes India the second-largest base after its California headquarters.

Opportunities in India’s Transformation

The arrival of the India Semiconductor Mission has created a wave of optimism. Marvell sees opportunities across three layers:

First comes the market-side growth. India’s appetite for advanced electronics is exploding from smarter cars that need complex automotive silicon, to telecommunications networks leaping from 5G to 6G, to industrial systems becoming more automated, and above all, to hyperscale data centers mushrooming across metros and tier-two cities. Each new megawatt of data center capacity being commissioned represents not just racks of servers but demand for the kind of high-performance custom silicon Marvell specializes in.

The second layer is supply chain development. As fabs, OSATs and IP providers begin to take root in the country, Marvell sees the promise of a more localized ecosystem. For a fabless company, this is less about owning the factories and more about engaging with partners who can shorten cycles, allow for co-located design and production, and add vital resilience when global supply chains face disruption.

And finally, there is collaboration with startups. India is slowly cultivating its own semiconductor start-up scene, filled with niche players working on specific design or process breakthroughs. Marvell views these as natural partners firms that may not compete head-on with global giants but can complement them. Together, such partnerships could help scale solutions in domains like carrier networking, enterprise systems, and emerging data center architectures, not just for India but for the global market.

Strengthening the India Footprint

Marvell’s investments are directed not towards fabs but advanced R&D. In Pune, it established a 100,000 sq. ft. innovation hub with a 20,000 sq. ft. lab space. Bangalore has seen new expansions with additional floors, and Hyderabad will soon be the next site of growth. These facilities house capabilities for custom ASIC design, sub-3nm process R&D, photonics integration, and advanced EDA methodologies leveraged globally. This scaling is aimed to reinforce Marvell’s leadership in custom silicon architectures, with data center semiconductors representing a global opportunity of over $90 billion

India’s Role in Global Innovation

With over one in every five engineers at Marvell based in India, the country drives design engineering and software innovation that enables global products. Marvell is combining India’s strength in software with chip design proficiency to deliver first-time-right custom silicon for hyperscalers and enterprise data centers. The scale of Indian talent ensures Marvell stays ahead in aggressively capital-intensive areas, particularly AI-centric workloads where processors, networking, and storage converge.

Driving Growth through Global Trends

Global investment in AI-driven data centers is projected to surpass $1 trillion over the next five years, fueling soaring demand not only for XPUs but also for the supporting silicon essential to scaling AI infrastructure. Marvell’s biggest growth driver is the data center segment today contributing nearly 70% of its revenues, compared to just 40% earlier. AI workloads, hyperscaler partnerships (such as with AWS for co-developing cloud-based custom silicon), and the expansion of high-capacity networks are accelerating this trajectory. While India may not be a direct customer market yet, its emerging digital infrastructure from hyperscale data centers to 5G deployments presents an aligned opportunity where Marvell’s custom silicon and photonics could find strong relevance.

Strategic Shifts and Vision

In a bold strategic move, Marvell sold its automotive Ethernet business to Infineon for $2.5 billion, freeing capital to double down on its faster-moving segments like AI and custom silicon. Going forward, India’s role is clear R&D powerhouse, ecosystem enabler, and global contributor. Marvell does not seek to replace domestic supply chains, but rather to integrate into India’s mission to become a key global semiconductor partner.

Looking Ahead

Over the next 3–5 years, Marvell envisions India becoming one of the most critical contributors to global semiconductor design. The country is both the world’s fastest-growing consumer of electronics and a rapidly expanding talent hub. With its expanding lab infrastructure, deep engineering focus, and collaborative ecosystem engagement, Marvell’s role will be to act as a foundational enabler of digital infrastructure from AI-driven data centers and hyperscaler cloud applications to next-generation 5G and enterprise systems.

At its heart, Marvell’s story in India is one of co-creation and partnership. Marvell is building the technologies that will shape India’s digital backbone and influence global semiconductor strategies.

Shipra Sinha, Senior Analyst- Industry Intelligence Group (IIG), CyberMedia Research (CMR) interacted with Mr. Navin Bishnoi, Country Head, Marvell India