Tata Electronics, a group company under the $103 billion Tata Sons conglomerate, is set to establish the country’s first commercial chip fabrication plant utilising an older technology to focus on a market segment for semiconductor designs from external customers, said an official with knowledge of the project. This would mark the first time the Indian government allocates resources to support establishing a chip making unit. The Tata Group had earlier reported the creation of India’s maiden integrated device manufacturer (IDM) in the country, a unit that designs and produces semiconductor chips in-house.
Tata Electronics Pvt. It will use technology far older than planned to produce India’s first semiconductor wafers, coming from a country with virtually no history of the sophisticated technology, highlighting how much work it will need to do to catch up. The tech unit of the sprawling Tata conglomerate will use 90-nanometer process technology for a large part of its first chip fab, which will be located in Dholera, a city in the western state of Gujarat, according to the sources.
That’s a very mature technology used in low-end industrial applications and cars – one that might even be obsolete in the coming years. It’s a more humble beginning compared with the 28nm node which Tata Sons Pvt., the group’s holding company, said would be the first step of its chipmaking innings in its annual report for the year ended March 2025.
It has been observed that Tata’s public plans could have been aspirational regarding what is realistically possible on the ground in the next couple of years. Tata’s entry into chipmaking involves a partnership with Taiwanese rival Powerchip Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp.
