L&T to Establish New Fabless Chip Company, To Invest $300 Mn

Larsen & Toubro (L&T) is making an important move into the semiconductor industry by investing over $300 million to establish a new fabless chip company. This investment will be spread over three years and aims to develop advanced processors.

Unlike traditional semiconductor firms, fabless companies focus on designing and selling chips while outsourcing their manufacturing.

It is to be noted that L&T’s new fabless chip company will differ from its existing L&T Semiconductor Technologies in several key ways. The new company will be fabless, meaning it will focus solely on designing and selling chips, while outsourcing the manufacturing to third-party foundries. In contrast, L&T Semiconductor Technologies is involved in various aspects of semiconductor manufacturing, including design, fabrication, and testing.

L&T's new venture will initially target sectors like automotive, industrial, and energy, which are undergoing substantial transformation. They plan to develop 15 different products by the end of this year, with sales expected to start in 2027. This initiative is part of India's broader strategy to build a robust semiconductor ecosystem and reduce reliance on imports.

The fabless company aims to develop advanced processors and plans to roll out 15 different products by the end of this year, with sales starting in 2027. While, L&T Semiconductor Technologies offers a wider array of semiconductor solutions, including integrated circuits and system-on-chip (SoC) designs.

This new initiative by L&T aligns with India’s broader strategy to build a robust semiconductor ecosystem and reduce reliance on imports. While L&T Semiconductor Technologies also contributes to this goal, the fabless company is specifically designed to accelerate innovation and development in advanced processor technologies.

India's 1st Super Fab Lab Inaugurated by Kerala CM

The country's first Super Fab Lab, which will give a major push to the hardware industry in the country and the only such facility outside the U.S., was launched at the Integrated Startup Complex of the Kerala Startup Mission (KSUM) here on Saturday.

Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan inaugurated the facility through remote control from Palakkad, where he attended a function at the government Polytechic College.

The Super Fab Lab will function in collaboration with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

The Fab Labs concept, the only one outside the U.S., is the brainchild of Dr Neil Gershenfeld, presently the Director of MIT Centre for Bits and Atoms, who set up the first Fab Lab in the U.S. about 17 years ago, KSUM said.

Dr Gershenfeld was in the city for nearly a week to personally supervise setting up of the Super Fab Lab.

Fab Labs are fabrication laboratories offering digital fabrication and computation.

Dr Gershenfeld asserted that the new facility, the only one outside the U.S., not only "has the tools to make anything, it also makes the tools that make things. It will break down boundaries between the digital and physical worlds," he said.

Relying on Computer Aided Design with additive and subtractive manufacturing, the Super Fab Lab allows
researchers, innovators and developers to do things beyond the purview of the states existing fab labs.

Dr Gershenfeld said the Super Fab Lab is a pioneering venture by Kerala and would let people produce what they consume

The state-of-art facility enables the state to produce machines locally, for access throughout Kerala. It can be for business, education and almost anything.

"It is an exciting initiative and the whole world is watching what is happening here so that they can follow on your footsteps", Dr Gershenfield was quoted as saying by Kerala Startup Mission in a release.

The Super Fab Lab, which is poised to give India's hardware industry a huge leap by allowing researchers, innovators and developers to do things beyond the purview of the states existing fab labs, will function in collaboration with MIT, it said.

KSUM CEO Dr Saji Gopinath said the Super Fab Lab will give a huge boost to Keralas industrial sector.

"Innovations that happen at the Lab can soon gettranslated to the industrial sector and we may see quite a few startups springing up in the near future," he said.

The KSUM Super Fab Lab has state-of-the-art machines worth more than Rs seven crore in a 10,000 square feet area.

The Super Fab Lab is set to make ISC one of the country's most sought-after investment hubs, coming as it is after electronics hardware incubator Maker Village and its biotech counterpart Bio-Nest.