GPUs, Fab, Products: L&T Semiconductor Is Paving Its Way Ahead
You're reading Entrepreneur India, an international franchise of Entrepreneur Media.
With a pipeline of more than 50 customers and 11 active projects on the product side, L&T Semiconductor Technologies (LTSCT), a fabless chip company, is ready to power India's semiconductor aspirations. The company also has plans on rolling out graphics processing units (GPUs), however it is time-bound. This financial year(FY) is on track and LTSCT is ahead of its plans– that's what the top boss believes, "I think we are going well on track, maybe ahead of our plan. Our focus is on acquiring customers and I think we are making a lot of positive progress in Japan, Europe, U.S. and in India. GPUs are in the pipeline but it's not a six month project. Our GPU program is active, it will take some time to come to market. Things can evolve and change in the next five years," said Sandeep Kumar, CEO of LTSCT.
"We will have a strong portfolio for the future needs of India. That should all come together by the end of June. We are also finalizing the licensing of the CPU, GPU, NPU, ISP," he added.
Talking about the highest performing sector, the CEO emphasized on the opportunities in the automotive and industrial sectors. The company is working on various programs, and the automotive sector holds high importance. The company will be kicking off an automotive program soon, which will firm up the type of CPU, GPU, NPU, AI processor, the company would require to work on. "The demand is coming from all, but the traction is driven by where we are putting more energy. So far, the first year we were focused on automotive. We will have significant traction in the industrial sector within a few months. Then in the energy sector, we are heavy on the customer interest, but we are still finalizing on the right products. Datacenter, solar, wind, battery, storage, we have a lot of demand, but we haven't finalized our products yet. In about six months, we would be able to decide," he said.
Talking about revenue generation, he shared, "We have programs that will start generating revenue this year in the industrial sector. Then there are projects that will start generating revenue in the industrial and energy sector from next financial year. Programs in the automotive sector have a longer lead time, maybe three years from now and then data center projects would yield revenue in four or five years."
LTSCT's main focus is to add more customers. Its clientele is 20-30 percent India based and 30 percent Europe. The rest is Japan and the US at 20 percent each. Kumar had been nurturing the idea that India must stop being the back office of the global semiconductor industry and start owning its semiconductor IP. At a time when Indian semiconductor companies were moving into manufacturing and assembly, he took a different route: He ventured into chip design and that's where the power lies. Kumar earlier revealed that the company plans to establish its own chip manufacturing plants once it achieves a revenue threshold between USD 50 million and USD 1 billion across different semiconductor technologies– however, it might be a different case now.
"Each of these products is different with differences in customers and technology. The development cycle on these products can be up to two years. So, once we are in production, then we will have the clarity or the visibility on what kind of fab we want. There is some kind of a plan when you start with, but then the reality is different. We are still a year and a half away from taking any decision on fabs," he explained.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
4 hours ago
- Yahoo
Indian equity benchmarks set for muted open ahead of Fed policy decision
(Reuters) -India's equity benchmarks are set for a muted start on Wednesday as caution ahead of the U.S. Federal Reserve's policy decision and delay in India-U.S. trade deal overshadow better-than-expected earnings from infrastructure major Larsen & Toubro. The Gift Nifty futures were trading at 24,825 points as of 7:50 a.m. IST, indicating that the Nifty 50 will open near Tuesday's close of 24,821.1. While the Fed is expected to keep rates unchanged later in the day as it sifts through mixed economic data, comments from Chair Jerome Powell will be closely watched for economic and inflation outlook. Higher U.S. interest rates make emerging market equities like India less attractive for foreign investors, who have been on a selling spree in India this month. Foreign investors sold shares worth 46.37 billion rupees ($532.49 million) on Tuesday, as per provisional data. They have sold Indian shares worth $1.61 billion so far this month. Uncertainty over India's interim trade deal with the U.S. ahead of President Donald Trump's August 1 deadline has been weighing on investor sentiment. India is preparing to face higher U.S. tariffs — likely between 20% and 25% — on some of its exports as a temporary measure, as it holds off on fresh trade concessions ahead of Washington's August 1 deadline, two Indian government sources said. Among stocks, Larsen & Toubro will be in focus after it beat quarterly profit estimates on Tuesday, boosted by rising overseas contracts. STOCKS TO WATCH ** Power generator NTPC posts higher profit, but its revenue falls in the first quarter. State-owned company says it has identified potential sites for nuclear power projects ** Star Health and Allied Insurance posts lower profit along with a drop in its operating income for the first quarter ($1 = 87.0810 Indian rupees)
Bloomberg
10 hours ago
- Bloomberg
BOJ to Hold Rate Steady With Likely Upgrade to Price View
The Bank of Japan is expected to keep its benchmark interest rate steady and boost its inflation outlook Thursday, as investors look for hints of another rate hike this year after a US-Japan trade deal reduced some uncertainty. All 56 economists forecast Governor Kazuo Ueda's board will leave the central bank's interest rate unchanged at 0.5% at the end of a two-day policy meeting, according to a Bloomberg survey this month. In the bank's quarterly economic outlook report, the inflation projection for this fiscal year is likely to be revised higher, they said.
Fast Company
14 hours ago
- Fast Company
The U.K.'s Online Safety Act has sparked an explosion in VPN downloads
It's a tough time to be an adult online in the U.K. right now. Last week's passage of the Online Safety Act, a law aimed at shielding children from inappropriate (read: adult) content, has brought about a version of the internet that feels more like being back in school. You now essentially need a hall pass, in the form of official ID or a live selfie, to go almost anywhere. The U.K. government clearly aimed the Online Safety Act at restricting access to porn websites. But the law's broad requirements—especially around age verification and content moderation—are sweeping up other parts of the web, too. Because of this, it's a great time to be a VPN provider. Usage of these services, which route traffic through other countries to disguise a user's location and prevent tracking, has jumped more than 1,000% in the days following the act's passage. 'It's no wonder VPN downloads soared in the U.K. over the weekend,' says Kate Ruane, director of the Free Expression Project at the Center for Democracy & Technology. 'Privacy and free expression are human rights, and governments should protect them by passing laws to enhance people's privacy and free expression rights, not endanger them.' There's growing concern that the new rules are causing more harm than they prevent. In trying to keep children away from harmful content, the government may have inadvertently pushed tens—or even hundreds—of thousands of people toward tools that make lawful tracking and oversight far more difficult. Critics argue the implementation has been more performative than effective, with little meaningful enforcement behind the measures. Even those who represent VPN providers are surprised by the sudden surge in interest. 'The surge in VPN usage we've observed across the U.K. is a direct response to the Online Safety Act's extensive controls and age verification requirements,' says Alexey Kozliuk, chair of the VPN Guild, an industry group. VPNs remain legal in the U.K., but their sudden rise in popularity appears to have taken the government by surprise. Officials are reportedly considering restrictions on advertising the services. While VPNs can offer a layer of privacy, not all are trustworthy—especially free options, which may come with risks like data tracking, harvesting, or malware. 'Users should look for transparent privacy policies, a strict no-logs policy, robust encryption, and a proven track record,' Kozliuk says. Cybersecurity experts share that concern. 'The purported benefit of protecting private data by avoiding submission to a third-party age verifier is compromised if instead they entrust another third party with their browsing data,' says George Loukas, professor of cybersecurity at the University of Greenwich. 'Of course, there is a variety of more and less reputable VPNs with and without no-logs policies, but I insist that VPNs should be used as cybersecurity tools, not for circumvention of restrictions,' he adds. Graeme Stewart, head of public sector at Check Point Software, notes that the U.K.'s rush to VPNs—and the government's potential pushback—puts the country in dubious company alongside China, Russia, and Iran. 'That should tell you everything,' he says. 'People are turning to VPNs because they don't trust the system, and who can blame them?'
