Intel India is sharpening its role as a vertically focused semiconductor engineering centre, with work spanning processor architecture, CPUs, graphics processors, firmware, software and custom silicon, while also expanding its focus on sovereign and multilingual artificial intelligence.
Gokul V. Subramaniam, Intel India president and vice president of the Client Computing Group at Intel Corporation, said the company’s operations in India have moved well beyond a traditional research and development mandate. Intel has invested nearly $11 billion in India over 37 years across research, development and engineering.
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India Teams Take on Greater Chip Design Responsibility
Subramaniam said Intel India now works across instruction set architectures, processor design, CPUs, GPU graphics processors, ecosystem intellectual property, firmware and software.
He described the transition over the past five years as a shift towards greater architectural ownership rather than simply an increase in scale.
India-based teams have made significant contributions to Intel’s Clearwater Forest, Panther Lake and Wildcat Lake products across enterprise and consumer silicon. All three are built on Intel’s 18A process node.
Intel has also added purpose-built and custom silicon work in India over the past year and a half, alongside its foundry activities. Subramaniam did not disclose a specific figure for future investments in the country.
The company has recently added custom silicon and Application-Specific Integrated Circuits as a category, targeting hyperscale cloud providers and AI infrastructure requirements that may not rely on standard processors.
Sovereign and Multilingual AI Become Key Focus Areas
Intel is also placing increased emphasis on sovereign AI, skills development and academic engagement in India.
Subramaniam said the company works with the government and the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology on the IndiaAI Mission and the India Semiconductor Mission.
Intel has active partnerships with Bhashini, CoRover.ai and Tech Mahindra, with a focus on multilingual and locally relevant AI applications.
Intel and Tech Mahindra have collaborated on Project Indus education-focused large language models, which support Hindi and regional Indian dialects on Intel-powered AI PCs for students.
Intel India has also worked with MeitY’s Digital India Bhashini Division to make Vidyalekha, a real-time AI translation and transcription tool, available on Intel-based AI PCs.
The system runs sovereign multilingual models directly on AI PCs instead of depending entirely on cloud infrastructure. It supports 22 Indian languages and is intended for higher education use, including in areas with limited connectivity.
Subramaniam said the system combines different models for functions such as speech recognition, text-to-speech, machine translation and large language models. He also pointed to the challenge of code-switching in India, where conversations often mix English with an Indic language.
Custom Silicon Could Gain From Data Centre Expansion
Intel sees opportunities for its custom silicon and 18A architecture as India’s data centre capacity expands.
India’s data centre capacity is expected to rise to nearly 8 GW by 2030, from 1.6 GW in August. Data centre investments have been estimated at nearly $70 billion, with an additional $90 billion in announced projects.
Subramaniam said Intel’s generational products, including Panther Lake and Wildcat Lake, are expected to support opportunities across personal computing devices, clients, edge devices, robotics, physical AI and data centres.
He said success in India would depend on delivering breakthrough innovations, providing products with the required performance and building solutions for specific use cases.
Intel’s India strategy now combines semiconductor engineering, custom silicon and sovereign AI development, with the company seeking to connect chip-level optimisation with practical applications in education, enterprises and small businesses.
About the author — Suvedita Nath is a science student with a growing interest in cybercrime and digital safety. She writes on online activity, cyber threats, and technology-driven risks. Her work focuses on clarity, accuracy, and public awareness.
