R&D lab Bengaluru: Applied Materials to set up an R&D lab in Bengaluru

American corporation Applied Materials, which supplies equipment, services and software for the manufacture of semiconductor chips, has sought the Karnataka government’s approval to set up an R&D laboratory at Whitefield. Discussions were also held with Juniper Networks and Western Digital for potential investment or expansion opportunities.

This comes on top of an investment announced by Applied Materials of $400 million to set up an engineering centre in Bengaluru over the next four years.

MB Patil, state minister for large & medium industries, & infrastructure development on Wednesday held discussions with the American chip manufacturer on setting up a Centre of Excellence for innovation and an R&D lab in Bengaluru.

The company’s officials have requested the government to expedite the process of issuing pre-construction approvals for the lab. The team also discussed the importance of chemicals and gases needed for the semiconductor ecosystem, and the ease of doing business.

Prabu G Raja, president of semiconductor products group, and Srinivas Satya, corporate vice president and managing director of Applied Materials India, also discussed their commitment to accelerate Karnataka’s ecosystem through collaboration on skilling.

The Patil-led delegation visited the company’s Maydan Technology Center, a facility dedicated to advanced chip-making.

In another meeting with San Francisco-headquartered Juniper Networks Inc., the delegation discussed various issues including enhancement of its R&D capabilities in the state, exploration of hardware manufacturing along with supplier ecosystem, policies and incentives in Karnataka.The two sides also discussed renewable energy plans for business operations and government partnership on establishing a Center of Excellence for design and wireless products by March 2024.

Currently, Juniper Networks has the largest data centre in Karnataka, employing 4,000 people.

The ongoing meetings are part of Patil’s 12-day US tour.

Western Digital, which has a large R&D presence in Bengaluru, discussed custom-related issues with the government since it is into hard disk drive development and ways to improve ease of doing business along with expediting the approval process.

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