Rajasthan-based Sahasra Semiconductor will start the commercial production of first Made in India memory chips from September or early October, its chief executive officer Varun Manwani told FE. This means that before Micron, Sahasra will be the company to produce chips in India.
The company has set up its semiconductor assembly, test and packaging unit in Bhiwadi district from where it will initially package basic memory products like MicroSD cards, chip-on-board, etc and will later move on to advanced packaging of products such as internal memory chips.
Sahasra Semiconductor is currently part of the Scheme for Promotion of Manufacturing of Electronic Components and Semiconductors (SPECS), under which it is eligible for 25% financial incentive on capital expenditure. Unlike Micron that produces its own chips, Sahasra is more an Outsourced Semiconductor Assembly and Test (OSAT) company, which means they assemble and package chips for other brands.
“We will be the first Indian semiconductor company to start the production of chips. We actually did some trial production in March and the commercial production will start sometime in September and early October,” Manwani said, adding that the company gets orders from small and medium sized companies to make chips for them and is also looking at export opportunities.
The company will invest Rs 600 crore over five to six years for producing the chips and setting up infrastructure around it. Till now, Sahasra has invested close to Rs 110 crore to start the first phase of assembly and packaging of chips.
“Now, memory is becoming internal as all phones and devices come with internal memory, which means the chip is inside. That is likely more advanced packaging, which we will tap in the next year and a half. We are starting with basic packaging of chips first,” Manwani added.
Besides the assembly of chips, the company is currently designing its own LED driver ICs, which is its internal intellectual property.
Sahasra is also looking to apply under the semiconductor incentive scheme, where the government will bear 50% of the project cost. “We started working on the fab before the semiconductor scheme was announced. First, we will utilise the investments under the SPECS scheme and then we will apply under the semiconductor incentive scheme,” Manwani said.
With regard to supply chain partners, Sahasra gets tools from countries like Japan, Korea, Thailand and counts Disco Corp, Kulicke and Soffa, among others, as its supplier partners.
In the next four to five years, Saharsa is targeting a Rs 500 crore revenue from the semiconductor business owing to increase in domestic demand.
“We will see ourselves as one of the niche players in the OSAT business. We will be doing multiple packages, OSAT ATMP. As we move along, it will become clear what are the low hanging fruits that can be eyed rather than going for very advanced packages,” Manwani added.