Among N Chandrasekaran’s many bets at Tata Sons, few have changed shape as dramatically as Tata Electronics. What began as a relatively obscure precision manufacturing business is now a Rs 1,31,082-crore company, employing 86,466 people and sitting at the centre of the Tata Group’s ambitions in electronics and semiconductors.
But the numbers also reveal the unfinished part of the story: Tata Electronics reported a net loss of Rs 1,611 crore in FY26 even as its investment programme runs into tens of thousands of crores.
For the Tata Sons chairman who succeeds Chandrasekaran, this will be one of the most consequential businesses to get right.
The company is already a significant player in Apple’s supply chain, assembling iPhones in India and manufacturing components. It is simultaneously attempting something far more ambitious in semiconductors — a Rs 91,000-crore fabrication plant in Dholera, Gujarat, and a Rs 27,000-crore assembly and testing facility in Assam.
The opportunity behind the spending is powerful. Global technology companies are seeking alternatives to China, while India is pushing to establish itself as a manufacturing and semiconductor hub. Tata Electronics has positioned itself squarely in that intersection.
“Tata Electronics will continue to be the sunrise business since there are distinct regulatory tailwinds for contract manufacturing and semiconductor manufacturing. However, the challenge will be to scale up and show results since the investments in the business are also huge,” said Pareekh Jain, founder and chief executive, EIIRTrend, a technology advisory firm.
That last part will define the next chapter.
In semiconductors, breaking ground is only the first hurdle. Tata Electronics will have to get chip design, product quality, yields and manufacturing efficiency right, while building credibility with customers and developing a competitive brand. The company will also have to manage a workforce that has expanded rapidly, reaching 86,466 employees at FY26 end.
There is another challenge: staying relevant. As electronics manufacturing scales, product variety, customer requirements and technology cycles will change rapidly. The ability to adjust without allowing costs and complexity to spiral will be as important as the capacity itself, another expert noted.
The scale of the transformation is not in doubt. Tata Electronics has gone from precision components to iPhone manufacturing, chip packaging and semiconductor fabrication in a remarkably short period.
The question confronting its next chairman is more consequential: can Tata turn that extraordinary industrial build-out into a business that consistently makes money?