Bengaluru, Feb 7,2026: India on Saturday signaled what the Central government described as a defining moment in its artificial intelligence and semiconductor journey, with the unveiling of a 2-nanometer chip design at Qualcomm highlighting the country’s growing role in advanced chip design alongside a rapid expansion of AI and data centre infrastructure.
Speaking at the Qualcomm event, union Minister for Electronics and Information Technology Ashwini Vaishnaw said India is steadily moving beyond its long-standing identity as a software services and back-end chip development hub towards higher-value semiconductor design and AI-driven technologies.
The 2-nanometer wafer unveiled by Qualcomm contains dies with around 20 billion transistors each and integrates CPU and GPU capabilities. The minister said such advanced chips are critical for enabling AI computing at the edge, including applications in cameras, networking equipment, industrial systems and automobiles.
He clarified that while semiconductor manufacturing remains a complex, long-term journey, India’s design capabilities have advanced significantly, with companies now undertaking end-to-end chip design work in the country, from product definition to silicon validation.
Linking semiconductor progress with AI infrastructure, Vaishnaw said India has already seen committed investments of around $70 billion in data centres, rising to nearly $90 billion when recent announcements are included.
He said industry discussions suggest that investments could rise substantially in the coming years as AI adoption accelerates, though he noted that such figures represent projections rather than firm commitments.
He added that the growth of data centres is beginning to create downstream opportunities, including interest in AI server manufacturing and advanced electronics production in India, supported by existing electronics manufacturing incentive schemes.
On AI compute capacity, the minister said India currently has around 10,000 GPUs available under common compute infrastructure and plans to add approximately 50,000 more in the near term as part of the next phase of the AI mission, with further decisions to be guided by inputs from an upcoming AI summit.
The minister attributed India’s progress to the talent pipeline being built under the Semicon India programme. Under Semicon India 1.0, semiconductor education and training has expanded across more than 300 universities and colleges, with students gaining exposure to chip design tools and validation processes through industry and government-supported facilities.
He said the union Budget’s announcement of Semicon India 2.0 will deepen this effort, with a sharper focus on advanced chip design, equipment and materials, system-level skills and the gradual expansion of fabrication and ATMP capabilities. As part of this roadmap, India will work systematically from current 28-nanometer fabrication capabilities towards more advanced nodes such as 7 nanometers over time.
On the impact of AI on the IT sector, the minister said artificial intelligence would permanently change the software industry, creating both disruption and new opportunities.
He emphasised the need for coordinated action by industry, academia and government to upskill and reskill the workforce for AI-based enterprise solutions.
Qualcomm executives said the company operates as a global organisation with intellectual property developed across multiple geographies, but confirmed that its India centres play an important role in advanced semiconductor design, including work on leading-node technologies.
Reiterating India’s approach to global technology engagement, the minister said the country remains committed to co-development, co-creation and respect for intellectual property, and aims to contribute meaningfully to global AI and semiconductor innovation.
