Sahasra Semiconductor, a company based in Rajasthan, is poised to launch the commercial production of India’s premier memory chips by September or early October, as shared by its CEO, Varun Manwani, to FE. This positions Sahasra ahead of Micron in chip production within India.
The firm has established its semiconductor assembling, testing, and packaging facility in Bhiwadi district. The initial phase will focus on packaging fundamental memory products such as MicroSD cards and chip-on-board. The next stages will encompass the sophisticated packaging of items like internal memory chips.
At present, Sahasra benefits from the Scheme for Promotion of Manufacturing of Electronic Components and Semiconductors (SPECS). Under this program, the company qualifies for a capital expenditure incentive of 25%.
While companies like Micron are engaged in direct chip production, Sahasra operates more as an outsourced semiconductor assembly and test (OSAT) entity. This implies that Sahasra specializes in assembling and packaging chips on behalf of various brands.
Manwani highlighted, “We will be the first Indian semiconductor company to start the production of chips. We actually did some trial production in March and the commercial production will start sometime in September or early October.” He further mentioned that they cater to orders from small to medium enterprises for chip manufacturing and are exploring potential export markets.
Sahasra plans to channel approximately ₹600 crore over the next five to six years towards chip manufacturing and the associated infrastructure. To date, the company has allocated nearly ₹110 crore towards the inaugural phase of chip assembly and packaging.
In addition to chip assembly, Sahasra is in the process of designing its proprietary LED driver ICs, representing its own intellectual property. Moreover, the company is contemplating joining the government’s semiconductor incentive program, where up to 50% of the project’s expenses will be subsidized.
