Japan's Renesas to design 3 nm semiconductor chips end-to-end in India

Japanese semiconductor and electronics manufacturer Renesas India will be the first company to design 3 nanometer (nm) chips end-to-end in India, Union electronics and information technology minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said on Tuesday.

 

“So far, we have seen designs in 7 nanometers and 5 nanometers. This is the first time we will be getting into 3 nanometers. On the one hand, we are growing the electronics manufacturing industry at a double-digit CAGR (compound annual growth rate) which will create a lot of self-reliant solutions. At the same time, we are developing the semiconductor industry,” Vaishnaw said, speaking at the inauguration of the company’s Noida research and development office.

 

The Union minister also inaugurated the Bengaluru design centre of the company virtually on Tuesday.

 

On Tuesday, the company also signed a memorandum of understanding with the ministry of electronics and information technology under which it will provide 270 Indian colleges and universities with a microcontroller-based hardware kit which can be used to develop products.

 

“These strategic collaborations align with the ‘Make in India’ initiative, aiming to strengthen local design and manufacturing capabilities and empower home-grown talent to drive the future of industry,” Malini Narayanamoorthi, the country manager and VP, MID Engineering, Analog & Connectivity Group at Renesas said.

 

In 2024, Renesas formed a joint venture with Murgugappa group’s CG Power and Thailand’s Stars Microelectronics to set up a semiconductor outsourced assembly and testing (OSAT) unit at Sanand in Gujarat.

 

CG Power is the majority shareholder in the three-partner JV with 92.3 per cent shareholding, while Renesas and Stars Microelectronics holding equity capital of approximately 6.8 per cent and 0.9 per cent, respectively.

 

The three companies plan to invest more than ₹7,600 crore over the next five years in the Sanand OSAT unit, with a planned total capacity of up to 15 million chips being packaged per day.