When Texas Instruments (TI) started its operations in India way back in 1985, it had on its hand only a team of less than 100 enthusiastic and talented engineers. Today, the $13.7 billion global semiconductor major has over 1500 engineers in the country working on complex analog chips, microprocessors, and embedded software for its customers worldwide. Sanjay Bhan, Director, Human Resources, Texas Instruments India, tells Debojyoti Ghosh that though it took the company sometime to reach a certain level, TI India is currently regarded as a global innovation hub, contributing to at least 450 US patents so far.
Texas Instruments (TI) has been one of those few multinationals who started its operations in India way back in the mid-80s. With evolving workforce, how has been the journey so far?
Ans. The journey has been from good to great. As engineers of Indian origin were working on key projects in TI?s other global centers, our leaders got convinced about the availability of equally talent in the country who would be eager to get an opportunity to work on cutting edge technology. Hence the idea of setting up R&D operations in India was conceived and Bangalore was selected for its ecosystem and culture.
Starting with less than 100 people1985, TI in India today has over 1500 engineers working on the world?s most complex analog chips, microcontrollers, microprocessors, digital signal processors, application processors and embedded software for our global customers. Besides the strong R&D teams, our sales and field application engineers work very closely with our Indian customers and help them solve critical problems. We have built a pan-India sales footprint to efficiently cater to the needs of our customers.
With regard to its global ambitions, where does the Indian operations fit in?
Ans. TI?s R&D facility in India is seen as a leading center for innovation that consistently develops semiconductor products in the areas of analog and embedded processing that bring value to customers worldwide. As the semiconductor content in electronics keeps growing, so does our opportunity to innovate. Today, most of TI products have had the involvement of engineers from India in the design and development stage. Since 2006, TI has increased its focus on India as a growing semiconductor market. In applications ranging from energy meters to LED lighting, UPS and inverters to consumer appliances, medical electronics to surveillance, TI India is making a strong impact in electronic product development in the country and abroad.
When you say India is one of the key innovation hubs of the company, what does it actually imply?
Ans. The center in Bangalore is one of the largest design centers for TI outside Dallas and every strategic business entity in TI has a design team or multiple teams based here. Some businesses have all of their product designs taking place from Bangalore. For designing and releasing these complex products to the market, innovation has to happen with every engineer every day; innovation is a matter of survival in our industry. We are blessed with top technical talent in India. To summarize, the need for innovation to stay ahead in the market clubbed with top technical talent in India places us in a unique position.
What kind of R&D work is coming out of India? How many patents have been filed from here?
Ans. One of the early innovations of the India team back in the mid-90s was the design of the first microcontroller in India, which was aptly named ?Ankoor?. Originally designed for motor control applications for hard disks, Ankoor is still in production in the form of its variants.
Today, engineers here are involved in innovation for developing chips for markets such as industrial, consumer, medical, automotive, communications and connectivity. These products have been bringing significant value to our customers. Over 450 US patents have originated from work done in TI India. Last year, TI has spend $1.72 billion in R&D globally.
How do you see the talent pool in the semiconductor industry?
Ans. There has been a significant shift in the talent landscape in the Indian semiconductor industry in the last 10 to 15 years. In the late 90s and early 2000 it was very difficult to find experienced design engineers and managers locally. The industry those days would rely a lot on the specialised talent from their global headquarters or hire them from other geographies where talent was in abundance. Since then, the industry has evolved and the ecosystem has developed significantly. Today, there is a decent balance between demand and supply at the current stage.
In the late 90s TI started a university program to update students on the latest trends in semiconductor products. TI?s university program has helped set up over 1200 labs in engineering colleges across the country. We work with engineering colleges on research programs, faculty and student development programs and curriculum development. Today we find that the talent pool is well versed with the semiconductor industry, particularly in the areas of design and development.
How much time, resources and revenue do TI spend on its employees? How has your people management strategy changed over the years?
Ans. We are in an industry where the difference between success and lack of success of a company is determined primarily by the quality of talent. In the company each manager spends considerable time with his/her teams to ensure that they continue to take TI to the next level and also their career aspirations are taken care of. This involves proactively getting employees to work on programs and functions that will prepare them for future roles. Our people management strategy has evolved over time and our design teams are much more integrated with the sales teams to solve customer problems.