Adani Group partners Israel’s Tower Semiconductor to build $10 billion chip plant in India: All details – Times of India

India’s richest man Gautam Adani is joining the global semiconductor race. According to a report in Bloomberg, the Adani Group plans to build a semiconductor fabrication plant with Israeli company Tower Semiconductor. The move aims to bolster India’s chipmaking capabilities as semiconductors become a key geopolitical battleground globally. The deal also gives the Israeli chipmaker a foothold in one of the world’s key emerging markets.In the past few years, semiconductors have grown into a crucial resource amid an escalating tech rivalry between the US and China. This has made several nations review their dependency on imports and investing heavily in developing domestic capabilities.
Maharashtra deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis announced the same in a post on X, formerly Twitter. The unit is expected to have a production capacity of 40,000 wafers in the first phase, and 80,000 wafers in the second, Fadnavis said in the post. He further added that the plant will create 5000 jobs. He, however, did not share any timeline for the project, but the report quoting sources said that the plant will be built over three to five years.

According to the report, the project is housed under the group’s flagship and incubator Adani Enterprises Ltd. Adani Group will largely fund the investment through its internal accruals and some debt. The chips manufactured at the upcoming facility will reportedly be used in drones, cars, smartphones and other mobility solutions.

What is Tower Semiconductor into

Tower Semiconductor specialises in analogue chips used in cars, medical sensors and power management. Although Tower’s sales are a fraction of industry giants Intel and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC), the company makes components for large customers such as Broadcom Inc. In August 2023, Intel scrapped its acquisition of the Israeli chipmaker Tower Semiconductor, saying that it failed to secure the required regulatory approval. Intel announced intentions to buy Tower — a contract chipmaker that manufactures semiconductors for other companies — in February 2022 for $5.4 billion.
According to a Reuters report, Intel did not secure approval for the deal from the Chinese authorities before a crucial deadline passed. Intel agreed to pay Tower Semiconductor a termination fee of $353 million to Tower.

Adani Group enters another industry which is PM Modi’s key focus area

With this, Adani Group enters another sector which is a key focus area for Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s administration. PM Modi is looking to turn India into a technology superpower, attract more international chipmakers and cut reliance on expensive imports. Adani also follows the Tata Group into India’s nascent semiconductor industry. The Tata Group has partnered with Taiwan’s Powerchip Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp. for its $11 billion chip fabrication plant in Dholera, Gujarat.
The new Tata facility will produce 50,000 of the so-called mature chips — using 40-nanometer or older technology — that are still widely used in consumer electronics, automobiles, defense systems and aircrafts.