ARM to design advanced 2nm chips at new Bengaluru facility, says IT minister Ashwini Vaishnaw

ARM Embedded Technologies, the Indian subsidiary of UK-based semiconductor and software design giant ARM Holdings, will focus on designing cutting-edge chips, including advanced two-nanometre (2nm) nodes, at its newly inaugurated Bengaluru unit.

Union IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, who inaugurated the new office on Tuesday, said ARM's 2nm chip design initiative makes it only the second company after Renesas to achieve this benchmark in India.

"ARM will be designing even two nanometer chips here in this unit in Bengaluru. So congratulations to ARM and the entire team," he said, adding that more advanced projects are already in the pipeline.

On whether Dutch chip equipment maker ASML, which is the world's only supplier of extreme ultraviolet (EUV) photolithography machines, plans to set up operations in India, Vaishnaw said the company's top leadership had shown strong interest during Semicon India 2025.

"Their CEO met with us, had a round table with the Prime Minister, and their interest in India is very serious. We are continuously engaged with them," he said, adding that India is also working closely with technology developers such as IMEC and IBM Albany.

The minister highlighted the progress of India's semiconductor ecosystem, saying that the country now has 10 units under development, including two fabs and eight ATMP (assembly, testing, marking, and packaging) facilities. Of these, CG Semi has already started pilot production, while two more plants are expected to begin soon.

He added that over 500 specialty chemicals and 50 gases essential for fabrication are being sourced domestically as ecosystem partners set up manufacturing facilities in India. Substrate manufacturers have also begun operations, strengthening the local value chain.

Vaishnaw further pointed to the success of the Design Linked Incentive (DLI) scheme, under which several companies have received funding from venture capital partners. He also announced the launch of the India Deep Tech Fund, a $1 billion corpus aimed at supporting artificial intelligence, semiconductors, biotechnology, and other deep tech sectors, with plans to expand further.

Outlining the next phase of the government's strategy, the minister said Semiconductor Mission 2.0 would broaden its scope to cover not just chip design and fabrication but also the domestic manufacturing of equipment and materials, thereby creating a complete semiconductor stack and talent pipeline.

"India's trusted position in intellectual property protection, stable foreign policy, the Critical Minerals Mission, and our techno-legal approach to AI safety are all factors that position us to become not just a semiconductor design and manufacturing hub but also a true product nation," Vaishnaw said.

Reflecting on past missed opportunities, the minister said companies such as Fairchild and Intel had once considered setting up in India but were discouraged by policies that were not aligned with industry expectations at the time.

On the broader electronics sector, Vaishnaw mentioned that India has generated close to 25 lakh jobs in the industry, with new design and manufacturing units being established every fortnight.

He said investments worth nearly ₹60,000 crore are expected in electronics component manufacturing, with strong interest reflected in the surge of applications. "This is just the beginning. The next 10-15 years will be a period of sustained growth," he added.

Meanwhile, ARM Holdings CEO Rene Haas told CNBC-TV18 that India remains a critical growth market for the company. "We have doubled our headcount in India since I became CEO. Today, we are nearly 2,000 people at this site. India is strategically very important to us not only for design and development in support of our customers but also for the growth opportunities in the region," Haas said.