San Diego-based Qualcomm, the world's top innovator of wireless products, solutions, and technology, is actively encouraging its semiconductor suppliers to diversify and relocate to other locations, including India.

Highlights:

• Qualcomm encourages semiconductor suppliers to diversify, potentially relocating to India.
• CEO emphasizes collaboration for resilient semiconductor supply chains across the US, Europe, and India.
• India's 5G launch is seen as a catalyst for technology proliferation, aiming for diverse device accessibility at various price points.

The company also sees the recent launch of 5G services in the country as a catalyst for scaling up the technology and enabling its proliferation in other developing economies across Latin America, Southeast Asia, and West Asia, as well as making devices available at all price points.

Talking to a group of journalists on Tuesday, Qualcomm president and CEO Cristiano R Amon stated that if the company's suppliers establish facilities in India, it will employ their fabs. He also stated that the United States, Europe, and India should collaborate to build a geographically diverse and resilient semiconductor supply chain, ensuring that there is no duplication in generating a successful ecosystem.

"We have been quite active in informing our suppliers about our aim to diversify and their capacity to relocate to new areas. "If our suppliers are motivated to build and have the right incentives to build in India, we will use their fab," he stated. 

"I believe there have been constructive discussions between the Indian government and other nations about how to engage in this new global semiconductor supply chain. India has a significant role to play. And as India seeks a role in leveraging its talent and knowledge, we will be delighted to bring our size to the country," Cristiano said.

The Qualcomm CEO's comments come as the Union government has announced a Rs 76,000-crore incentive scheme for the creation of a semiconductor and display production ecosystem in the country, which includes fiscal support of 50% of project costs across all technology nodes.

So far, the government has obtained proposals from five companies to establish electronic chip and display production units.

Qualcomm does not produce chipsets; instead, it sources them from wafer fabrication businesses such as Samsung, GlobalFoundries, and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company.

Cristiano stated that the debut of 5G services in India will help bring 5G devices to a wide range of price ranges. "When we look at the potential for 5G growth in India, I see numerous and significant opportunities. All of these events can occur simultaneously. The first is India-scale, which will incorporate 5G technology into every single device at a variety of price points," he said.

Qualcomm has had a lengthy presence in India and today employs over 18,000 people, the majority of whom are engineers. Of these, 3,000 were hired within the last year. The company has nurtured 100 startups and is now in conversations with automakers about its technology solutions. According to Cristiano, the company's focus is shifting from mobile communications to connected processors.