India now accounts for about 20 per cent of the global chip design and VLSI workforce, with more than 85,000 semiconductor engineers trained in the last four years, even as universities and start-ups expand the country’s semiconductor capabilities, an Intel senior executive said on Thursday.
Delivering a keynote at SEMICON India 2026, Iyengar, senior vice-president, fellow and general manager at Intel’s Central Engineering Group, said India was well positioned to play a larger role in the global semiconductor industry, particularly as demand for chips grows with the rise of agentic AI.
“What we see from outside looking into India is 20 per cent of the global chip design workforce is right here. That’s one-fifth of the chip design and the VLSI workforce here in India,” he said.
He said more than 85,000 semiconductor skillsets had been generated in India, while universities were producing more than 250 chips as part of efforts to build local design capabilities.
More than 355 universities are also offering advanced courses in semiconductors and VLSI design and testing, he said, pointing to the expanding talent pipeline supporting the industry.
Intel, which has been present in India for more than four decades, has a presence across its major business areas in the country.
“Our client and edge business, the data center business, the networking side, the AI side, or the recently announced purpose-built silicon side — all these business units of Intel have a thriving presence in India,” Iyengar said.
He added that India’s growing pool of AI talent and start-ups was adding to its importance for Intel.
“There are a number of AI labs we are dealing with and instigating them to do more in the agentic AI world.”
He also highlighted the role of Indian startups in developing deep-tech capabilities.
For Intel, the next phase in India will be built around customer focus, execution and trusted computing, Iyengar said.
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Published on September 17, 2026
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