Arm’s newly inaugurated design centre in Bengaluru will focus on creating the world’s most advanced 2 nanometre (2 nm) chips, aimed at powering AI servers, drones and mobile devices, the company and India’s Union Minister for Electronics and IT, Ashwini Vaishnaw, confirmed during the launch on September 16, 2025 Hindustan Times+2The Tribune+2.
During the inauguration, Minister Vaishnaw hailed the effort as a major step forward for India’s Semiconductor Mission. He emphasised that under this mission, the country is building a comprehensive chipset ecosystem—covering design, fabrication, testing, equipment and materials, supported by a deep talent pipeline across 278 institutions The Tribune+2Global SMT & Packaging+2.
Arm’s Bengaluru outpost joins only one other company—Renesas—in India’s elite circle capable of designing 2 nm nodes. This underscores India’s rising engineering capabilities and attractiveness as a global semiconductor design hub The Tribune+1.
Strategic Context & Technical Scope
These 2 nm chips are set to drive next-generation applications such as AI servers featuring massive parallel compute, high-altitude drones requiring compact reliability, and mobile devices demanding both efficiency and performance.
Minister Vaishnaw noted that 10 semiconductor units are currently under construction in India, including two fabrication plants (fabs) and eight outsourced assembly and test facilities (OSATs). One pilot plant operated by CG Semi in Gujarat is already running, with others ramping up soon Moneycontrol+1.
Under Semiconductor Mission 2.0, the government plans to scale beyond chip design to foster domestic manufacturing of semiconductor-grade equipment and materials, strengthening the entire value chain from raw inputs to finished devices Moneycontrol+1.
Talent & Ecosystem Build-Up
The minister highlighted that India’s ecosystem is maturing rapidly: more than 500 chemicals, 50 specialty gases, substrates, and related suppliers are setting up shop in India. This local supply chain foundation enables complex chipmaking tasks to be performed domestically Global SMT & Packaging+1.
Furthermore, the Semiconductor Mission supports world-class industry tools and training across universities and research centres, with students already designing at least 28 chips so far—a clear indicator of growing in-country capability The Tribune+1.
📌 Summary
| Item | Details |
|---|---|
| Project | ARM’s 2 nm chip design at Bengaluru centre |
| Applications | AI servers, drones, smartphones |
| India’s role | Second company after Renesas to do 2 nm in India |
| Semiconductor Mission | Focus shifting to full stack: chip, equipment, materials |
| Ecosystem growth | 10 fabs/OSATs under development, supply chain emerging locally |
| Talent pipeline | 278 supported institutions, 28 chips already designed |
This initiative positions India to become a global player in advanced semiconductor design—aligned with national efforts to create end-to-end capabilities across the entire semiconductor ecosystem.
