GlobalFoundries plans to set up semicon ecosystem in Bengal
Times of India | 21 November 2024
12 Kolkata: Nasdaq-listed GlobalFoundries (GF) is planning to establish a whole semiconductor ecosystem in Bengal, which will include servicing and R&D.
The collaborative state-of-the-art unit, to be called the GF Kolkata Power Center, was announced by White House after a meeting between outgoing US President Joe Biden and PM Narendra Modi this Sept.
GF vice president Amitava Das, speaking to reporters on the sidelines of Innovation 2024, organised by CII Eastern Region on Thursday, said that the tech giant was planning a semiconductor servicing unit here. "A lot of semiconductor units are coming to India. So, you need servicing also," he added.
Earlier, state IT minister Babul Supriyo said that GF had seen land parcels in STPI for its project. GF officials, including Das, met Supriyo earlier this week. "We shall talk to universities for talent," said Das.
The semiconductor servicing industry includes companies that provide services for the design, fabrication, testing and maintenance of semiconductors and semiconductor devices.
The US leadership of GF visited Webel last Oct-Nov and, with Webel's support, held a number of conferences, symposiums and workshops at Calcutta University and other educational institutions.
On Thursday, Webel MD Sanjay Kumar Das said that the state was setting up a GPU-based data centre in Siliguri. GPU is a specialised electronic circuit to perform specific types of computation. The data centre is expected to be fully operational by next month.
With a computational power of about 160 petaflops, the data centre will offer extensive capacity for diverse needs. This facility will also serve start-ups, MSMEs, institutions and researchers, he said.
(L-R): Rohit Sarkar, co-chairman, CII Eastern Region Startup Subcommittee and co-founder, Distronix, Amitava Das, vice president of GlobalFoundries Ltd, Sanjay Kumar Das, additional secretary, department of IT & Electronics & MD, West Bengal Electronics Industry Development Corporation Limited (WEBEL), Sankar Ghosh, chairman, CII Eastern Region Startup Subcommittee and MD, Accenture APAC, and Mamata Mondal, deputy director, CII, at the Innovation Conclave 2024 by CII Eastern Region, held in Kolkata