India has emerged as a key technology and operations base for GlobalFoundries (GF), even though the US-based chipmaker does not manufacture semiconductors in the country. Engineers in India monitor, troubleshoot and improve its fabs in the US, Germany and Singapore, often identifying issues before teams at those facilities begin work.
The India centre has also grown into a product development and AI transformation hub. “If you want to transform something, (we say) give it to the India team,” said Pradheepa Raman, GF’s chief people officer. “They bring the best AI people, they bring the best digital talent to go transform it.”
GF, the world’s 3rd-largest chip foundry after TSMC and Samsung Foundry, has expanded its India workforce to about 1,500, including PhDs, MTechs and BTechs in electronics, material science and mechanical engineering, along with physics graduates. Raman expects the workforce to reach about 1,800 this year and cross 2,000 within 2 years. Teams also support supply-chain planning, customer enablement, finance, legal and human resources.
Raman describes India as “a microcosm of the company.” Her career includes engineering, HR roles at HCL, Avaya, Samsung and Stanley Black & Decker, and an MBA in HR from Rutgers University. Her experience during the Covid-era chip shortage, when semiconductor shortages caused billions in potential business losses, helped draw her to GF.
“We are a physics and technology company. We happen to be doing manufacturing,” she said. GF develops manufacturing processes, design kits and technologies that help customers build reliable chips.
Unlike TSMC and Samsung, GlobalFoundries is not focused on leading-edge nodes. Its technologies include silicon photonics, radio-frequency chips, power electronics, ultra-low-power computing and semiconductor design IP. These are gaining importance with AI data centres, physical AI and the need for geographically resilient supply chains.
GF’s MIPS acquisition and its purchase of Synopsys’ ARC processor IP solutions business have strengthened capabilities for edge devices. The company also manufactures cryogenic chips for quantum computing.
India contributes to product roadmaps, development, management and marketing. Non-volatile memory is one area led from India, while its Kolkata centre works extensively on power and gallium nitride technologies.
Around 400 India-based employees support GlobalFoundries fabs in Dresden, Malta, Burlington and Singapore. They analyse manufacturing data to detect abnormalities, diagnose issues, support corrective action, integrate systems and improve processes.
GF also works with IITs, IISc and about 15 other institutions on research and deep-tech talent. As India builds its own fab ecosystem, these partnerships and capabilities could become increasingly valuable.
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