Abhi Talwalkar, President and CEO, California-based LSI Corp, has steered the chipmaker in a different direction by refocussing on semiconductor solutions for networking devices. This realignment has worked for LSI with revenues growing from $1.9 billion in 2006 to around $2.7 billion last year. He took over from the company's founder-CEO Wilfred Corrigan five years ago. Talwalkar discusses his business plans in an interview with BT's Rahul Sachitanand.
Is your rejig part of a larger consolidation in the global semiconductor space?
The global semiconductor industry is about $250 billion. It was impacted by the worldwide recession but is showing strong growth signs now. Many companies have undergone or are undergoing some form of consolidation. I don't think it is critical to be number 1, 2 or 3 overall, but to be a top player in specific segments you compete in.
Has India become more important in the global semiconductor food chain?
Products conceptualised and designed by the 100,000-odd engineers who work for MNCs from India probably account for 20-25 per cent of the global semiconductor industry. Our 850 engineers influence a quarter of our revenues directly. India has a greater impact on the semiconductor industry than most of its neighbours. The country's inadequate infrastructure, however, makes large scale manufacturing unviable for now.
How far has LSI's re-invention progressed over four years?
What we like about the enterprise market is that our customers require complex silicon solutions. Our customers spend a lot of their R&D money on integrating our solutions into their products. We think this market is more sustainable and profitable than the consumer market, where product prices are constantly changing and there is uncertainty about the next big hit in the market.
