How would you describe AMD’s two-decade journey in India?
The journey has been about how we have built our engineering capabilities, infused the skills required for complex semiconductor design into the ecosystem, and partnered the industry and the government to strengthen it.
AMD, with a workforce of about 10,000, accounts for around 26 per cent of the company’s global workforce. We have a presence across every business unit, and every AMD product has significant contributions from Indian engineers. They work on IP, system-on-a-chip (SoC) design, software, and artificial intelligence (AI), including building AI layers to improve productivity and efficiency.
How does the India centre align with AMD’s global strategy?
India has a significant presence across all our business units and product lines, including server processors, custom chips for gaming, and software teams for CPUs, GPUs, client computing, and gaming. In collaboration with our US teams, we are also working on IP for CPUs and GPUs.
We create multiple versions of each IP. Any major IP typically has three versions: one that is actively used in our SoCs, one that is under development, and another that is being planned for the future. Indian engineers make huge contributions across all three stages.
We then bring these IPs together to build a complete system. Our engineers are highly skilled at system integration, and the overall scale is enormous. We have to ensure these systems are bug-free, so we carry out multiple layers of verification, including emulation, which replicates the behaviour of the logic boards before fabrication. That is a critical step. No product goes out without a stamp of India on it.
With AI workloads rising, how do you see the CPU-versus-GPU dynamic evolving?
The industry is moving beyond a CPU-versus-GPU discussion to a broader conversation about AI infrastructure. As we move into the era of inference and agentic AI, success will depend on how well the entire system works together.
GPUs are essential for accelerating AI workloads, particularly model training and large-scale AI compute, while CPUs provide the foundation that enables AI systems to operate efficiently through orchestration, data movement, scheduling, and system management.
Every AI workload running on a GPU cluster relies on CPUs to keep accelerators fully utilised and data flowing efficiently. CPUs also connect AI systems to enterprise applications, databases, storage, security, and compliance frameworks. Not every AI workload requires a GPU. CPUs can handle many of these workloads efficiently and cost-effectively, freeing up expensive GPU resources for tasks that genuinely require them.
How advanced are Indian engineers’ skills in chip design?
Our physical design and verification teams have been in place for a long time, and we have gradually expanded them. The expertise we have today has been built over the years. Our engineers are now far more confident in tackling complex designs independently, without having to rely extensively on experts from outside. We have become much more self-sufficient in terms of skills and have also supported projects that lacked this expertise.
The other aspect is the criticality of our contribution. In IP development, which forms the building blocks of a chip, different centres specialise in different IPs. Most of the SoC integration, or stitching together these building blocks, happens in India. We test the complete system before sending it for fabrication.
The final aspect is innovation. Our progress can be measured by how independently we tackle problems, the depth of our skills, the criticality of our contribution to the overall product, and the innovation we bring. We have come a long way on all four fronts.
How do you envision the evolution of this centre over the next five years in terms of research and development and talent?
The work done by the US and India centres is largely the same. But with the changing technology landscape, there is tremendous scope for innovation. The pace and depth of innovation will shape both the industry and the broader ecosystem. I expect the India teams to continue driving strong innovation and execution while building on their engineering excellence.
 "Jaya Jagadish, country head and senior vice-president of silicon design engineering at AMD India")