What is ChipIN : C-DAC’s Secret Weapon to Train over 85,000 Chip Designers in India

Introduction

The Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (CDAC) announced the ChipIN Center on February 24 last year. Serving as a pivotal platform, it aims at capacitating and preparing students as well as startups across the country in the chip design area. Let’s dive deeper into uncovering the potential that ChipIN brings along.

What is ChipIN?

ChipIN is a centralized chip design infrastructure launched by CDAC. India’s premiere R&D organization for the design and deployment of advanced Information Technology (IT) solutions.

The Chip IN facility will act as one stop centre to provide semiconductor design tools, fab access, virtual prototyping hardware lab access to fabless chip designers of the country.

Its name is reflective of the collective effort in propelling India to the forefront of the semiconductor industry.

Instrumented under the Ministry of Electronics and Information technology (MeitY), the ChipIN Centre has been set up at CDAC’s Bengaluru office.

_{Figure – Union minister launching the ChipIN center at CDAC Bengaluru last year}

The Vision and Targets

The Electronics and IT Ministry has outlined a comprehensive five-year plan for ChipIN, intending to train over 85,000 engineers on chip design.

The plan targets the expansion of this tech-infrastructure to 120 academic institutions across the country, thereby significantly advancing India’s semiconductor industry.

This initiative aims to form a bridge between academia and the industry by giving students access to state-of-the-art resources. The target encompasses B Tech, M Tech, and PhD students from 120 academic institutions countrywide, thereby cultivating a generation of skilled chip designers.

Key Features and Facilities

1. Semiconductor Design Tools

ChipIN provides a centralized repository of state-of-the-art design tools. Designers can access tools for logic design, verification, layout, and simulation.

2. Fab Access

Access to semiconductor fabrication facilities is critical for chip designers. ChipIN facilitates collaboration with foundries, enabling designers to bring their designs to life.

3. Virtual Prototyping Hardware Lab

The virtual prototyping lab allows designers to simulate and validate their designs before physical fabrication. It reduces costs and accelerates the development cycle.

ChipIN’s Partnerships

The ChipIN Centre announced the following support for state-of-the-art chip design tools from global companies-

Support to academic institutions:
1. EDA tools for academia from Synopsys to ‘pan-India academic institutions’, Cadence Design Systems to ‘150 institutions and Siemens-EDA & Ansys to ‘120 institutions’. At present, thousands of researchers & faculty members at 100+ academic institutions across the country. They are using these tools from ChipIN Centre to design their semiconductor chips.
2. FPGA Hardware Boards from Xilinx to 100 academic institutions.
3. Tapeout support to academia & start-ups for fabricating their designs at SCL foundry & overseas foundries.
Support to start-ups: EDA tools for pan-India startups from Synopsys, Cadence Design Systems and Siemens-EDA to design their semiconductor chips.

In addition to these global companies, ChipIN is exploring to engage with other leading design & solution companies like- Keysight technologies & Silvaco for CAD/ EDA solutions and Qualcomm & NXP Semiconductors for startup mentorship & support and enabling a global platform to start-ups.

Engaged with over 120 academic institutions and 15 start-ups at present, ChipIN intends to become the one-stop center for chip designers across the country.

_{Figure – Projects given to 1st 100 academic institutions under the Chip2Startup program}

Estimated Impact on India’s Semiconductor Industry

Integrating state-of-the-art resources for chip design and enabling remote access for students across India. ChipIN is likely to cultivate a vast talent pool skilled in chip design, thereby attracting both national and international semiconductor enterprises.

Furthermore, the initiative is foreseen to reduce India’s dependency on chip imports, thus favouring the country’s economy.

The initiative not only carves an innovation-based learning approach for students but also contributes to the booming job market in the semiconductor industry. Notably, this can potentially attract substantial foreign investments, adding to the country’s economic growth.

The point is: How many colleges are making use of the Incentives and Support given by the government.

Conclusion

In summary, ChipIN by CDAC is a visionary initiative set to create a ripple effect across the field of chip design and the broader semiconductor industry of India. By providing students with extensive resources and opportunities. It paves the way for a more technologically equipped, self-reliant, and economically robust India. As we look toward a future increasingly reliant on technology and digital solutions, initiatives like ChipIN serve as building blocks for a stronger, more resilient semiconductor industry in India.