Japan’s chip equipment supplier Disco mulls setting up centre in India: Report

Japanese chip-making device supplier Disco is reportedly eyeing to establish a centre in India. Disco aims to provide support for the clients and act as a base for marketing to the semiconductor industry in the country. 

According to a report in Nikkei Asia, the company will consider opening an applications laboratory that will perform test cuts and other experimental processing in India. The Japanese company’s plans, however, depend on how client companies progress in their expansion in the country.

Disco is a market leader in tools for cutting and grinding silicon wafers. The company holds a global market share of 70-80 per cent in equipment for back-end processes in chipmaking.

The Japanese company’s interest in India is the outcome of the range of investments in the country from global companies. Last week, US chipmaker Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) announced that it will invest around $400 million in the next five years to build its largest design centre in Bengaluru. The centre is expected to be open by the end of the year and create 3,000 new engineering roles within five years. 

US-based memory chip manufacturer Micron Technology also has plans to build a state-of-the-art semiconductor assembly and test facility in Gujarat. Micron President and CEO Sanjay Mehrotra announced that the Gujarat plant will create nearly 5,000 direct jobs and an additional 15,000 jobs in the community. 

Disco Executive Vice President Noboru Yoshinaga told Nikkei that the moves show that “the tide has changed”. Yoshinaga added that investments by local Indian companies will also progress together with foreign companies. 

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in the recently-concluded Semicon India 2023 event, held with a particular focus on the semiconductor industry in the country, asked companies to asked companies to invest in India. "India understands that semiconductors are not just a national need but a necessity for the world," PM Modi said, underscoring India’s commitment to become a leader in chip supply. He assured the event’s participants that investing in India would yield substantial returns.

Also read: US-based AMD to invest $400 mn in Bengaluru to set up its largest design centre; create 3,000 engineering roles

Also read: SemiconIndia 2023: Micron Technology to create 20,000 jobs by setting up Gujarat plant

Also read: Semicon 2023: 'Come, invest in India,' PM Modi tells global chipmakers