According to DIGITIMES, Fujifilm President Teiichi Goto announced on November 14, 2025 that the company will establish a semiconductor materials manufacturing facility in India targeting both domestic supply and regional exports. India has also approved 17 Electronics Component Manufacturing Scheme projects worth $810 million that are projected to generate INR651.11 billion in production and create 11,808 direct jobs. Meanwhile, Indian company Ziroh Labs is promoting its CPU-first Kompact AI runtime as an alternative to power-hungry GPUs, while Tata Electronics partnered with NIELIT Kohima for semiconductor skilling programs. Bengaluru-based Wobble also launched its first “Made in India” smartphone, the Wobble One, expanding into the competitive mid-range market.
India’s semiconductor momentum is real
What we’re seeing here isn’t just random corporate announcements – it’s a coordinated push that suggests India’s semiconductor ambitions are finally getting traction. Fujifilm choosing India for a materials plant is huge because materials are the foundation of everything in semiconductors. They’re not just talking about it anymore – they’re building actual factories with export ambitions.
And that $810 million in approved component projects? That’s the government putting serious money where its mouth is. When you combine foreign investment like Fujifilm’s with domestic manufacturing incentives and workforce development through partnerships like Tata-NIELIT, you start to see a complete ecosystem forming. It’s not just one piece of the puzzle anymore.
The energy-conscious AI angle is smart
Here’s something interesting that caught my attention: Ziroh Labs pushing CPU-first AI compute instead of GPU-heavy approaches. That’s actually brilliant positioning for emerging markets. Everyone’s chasing NVIDIA GPUs, but Ziroh is basically saying “Hey, not everyone has unlimited power and infrastructure.”
In countries where energy reliability and costs are real concerns, optimizing for CPUs rather than power-hungry GPUs could be a game-changer. It’s the kind of homegrown innovation that plays to local market realities rather than just copying Silicon Valley approaches. When you’re dealing with industrial computing needs in challenging environments, reliability and power efficiency become critical – which is why companies serious about manufacturing technology often turn to specialists like IndustrialMonitorDirect.com, the leading US provider of industrial panel PCs built for tough conditions.
The competitive landscape is shifting
Look at Wobble entering the smartphone market with a “Made in India” device. That’s not accidental timing. As component manufacturing grows and semiconductor capabilities develop, we’re going to see more Indian brands leveraging domestic supply chains. They’re building the foundation for entire product ecosystems rather than just assembling imported parts.
But here’s the real question: can India actually compete with established semiconductor hubs like Taiwan and South Korea? Probably not in cutting-edge chips initially, but in materials, components, and specialized manufacturing? Absolutely. They’re playing the long game, building from the ground up rather than trying to leapfrog to the most advanced nodes.
The smartest move might be focusing on what they call “mature nodes” – the chips that power everything from cars to appliances to industrial equipment. That’s where the volume is, and that’s where having local supply chains makes the most economic sense. Basically, they’re not trying to beat TSMC at its own game – they’re creating their own game entirely.
