India Accounts for About 20% of Global Chip Design Workforce, Intel Executive Says

India now represents about 20 per cent of the global workforce involved in chip design and VLSI, according to a senior Intel executive, highlighting the country’s growing role in the semiconductor industry.

Speaking at SEMICON India 2026, Iyengar, senior vice president, Fellow and general manager of Intel’s Central Engineering Group, said more than 85,000 semiconductor-related skill sets had been developed in India over the past four years.

The comments come as India expands its semiconductor ecosystem, with investments in chip manufacturing, design and related technologies increasing demand for specialised engineering talent.

According to Iyengar, more than 355 universities across India now offer advanced programmes covering areas such as semiconductor technology and VLSI design and testing. Universities have also produced more than 250 chips as part of efforts to strengthen domestic chip-design capabilities.

The expansion of academic programmes is contributing to a larger pool of engineers with specialised semiconductor skills. This talent pipeline is expected to become increasingly important as semiconductor companies expand design and engineering activities in India.

Artificial intelligence is another factor driving demand for semiconductor expertise. The growing adoption of AI, including agentic AI applications, requires increasingly powerful computing infrastructure and advances in chip architecture and design.

India’s broader technology ecosystem is also contributing to the development of semiconductor talent. The country’s AI workforce and startup sector are increasingly involved in deep-tech activities, including chip design and related technologies.

Intel has a significant presence in India across multiple technology areas, including client and edge computing, data centres, networking and artificial intelligence.

The expansion of university-level semiconductor programmes, combined with increasing industry participation, is expected to play a role in developing the engineering talent required to support India’s ambitions across the global semiconductor value chain.

The figures cited at SEMICON India 2026 underline the growing importance of India’s engineering workforce to the global chip-design ecosystem, although the precise definition and methodology behind the reported “skill sets” figure were not detailed in the statement.