American chipmaker Qualcomm on 14th March inaugurated its Chennai Design Center which has been built with an investment of Rs. 177.27 crore and will specialize in wireless connectivity solutions, with a focus on innovations that complement Wi-Fi technologies.
The company said that the center would actively contribute to Qualcomm’s global Research and Development endeavors in 5G cellular technology and is expected to generate jobs for up to 1,600 skilled technology professionals. Further, it said that the investment will also open new doors for semiconductor design and will unlock growth opportunities for a strong indigenous design ecosystem.
Cristiano Amon, president of Qualcomm said that a lot of the company’s chips are engineered and designed in India and that the team in Chennai is going to drive Qualcomm’s innovation roadmap in Wi-Fi technology. “The Chennai team has been instrumental for developing breakthrough technologies in Wi-Fi and our number one leadership position in Wi-Fi worldwide,” Amon said while addressing the media at the event. “They develop chips for leading technologies such as Wi-Fi 6, Wi-Fi 7, which is the latest standard of Wi-Fi chip. The investments that we have made in India are very significant, in excess of a billion dollars. So it is a significant investment that we will make and continue to make as we grow.”
Qualcomm said that India has a well-established IT industry with many multinational corporations which has led to a conducive environment for tech talent to flourish and that the company looked forward to the growth opportunities that the country presented.
“The new Design Centre in Chennai is a critical asset to support Qualcomm’s commitment to Make in India strategy. With R&D as the center’s core expertise, it will be a key enabler in Qualcomm’s business growth and will accelerate the growth of market adoption of advanced wireless tech solutions,” Rahul Patel, Group General Manager, Connectivity, Broadband & Networking (CBN), Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. said in a statement.
In addition to the design center, the company also announced its program supporting 6G University Research in India to encourage academia research and leadership in emerging 6G technologies.
