Qualcomm India has announced plans for Qualcomm Semiconductor Mentorship Program (‘QSMP’) 2022 for chosen semiconductor startups in India, with the goal of providing and facilitating mentorship, technical training, and industry outreach. As an outreach partner for the programme and to facilitate exposure for the participating companies, the company has teamed with C-DAC (Centre for Development of Advanced Computing), a top Research and Development organization of the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY)
Qualcomm India will select up to ten Indian semiconductor startups for this Mentorship Program, and each will be paired with a Qualcomm India leader for product planning and development mentorship. The startup and the mentor will meet on a regular basis, either in person or online.
Qualcomm India will also host “Masterclass” workshops for the shortlisted firms on semiconductor design topics like design, testing, and verification packaging, as well as non-technical areas like pitches, IPR, marketing, government incentives/opportunities, and scaling up teams. C-DAC and Qualcomm India will help these firms gain exposure to government stakeholders through meetings, webinars, seminars, and trade shows.
Under this collaboration, C-DAC and Qualcomm India intend to work towards the following broad objectives:
- Nurture technical advancements and intellectual-property-driven innovation and product development required for semiconductor design in the Indian ecosystem
- Help reduce risks in innovation; accelerate the pace of business development; and develop soft skills and knowledge base of Indian startups engaged in semiconductor design
- Facilitate access for the selected startups with domain experts, VCs, accelerators, incubators, industry associations and large companies that could help them scale up their business
- Create platforms and forums that provide opportunities to work with high-growth-potential small businesses and startups who have potentially disruptive technologies that could develop or reshape semiconductor supply chains in the future
Regarding this collaboration and QSMP, Rajen Vagadia, VP and President of Qualcomm India & SAARC, said,
The semiconductor supply chain has underlined the demand to find domestic solutions for the needs across industries. Semiconductors are an essential building block for most technology platforms and connected devices There is a huge opportunity for Indian semiconductor startups due to the incentives provided by the Government. Qualcomm India is committed to help semiconductor design startups capitalize on India’s design and engineering talent to drive innovations that will power the intelligent, connected future we foresee, not only for India but the world.
Magesh, Director General C-DAC said,
The semiconductor industry is crucial for the growth of many other industries. We encourage Indian startups to come forward and meet the current and projected domestic demand for semiconductors with the support of Government-led programmes such as “Make in India” and the Design Linked Incentive (DLI) scheme. The prevailing global and domestic environments present opportunities for both established companies and startups. The joint initiative with Qualcomm India will enable us to identify, interact with, and support the scale-up of the most promising Indian semiconductor startups.