Jabil To Set Up $125 Mn Silicon Photonics Unit In Gujarat

SUMMARY

The Apple vendor plans to make the silicon photonics unit will be operational in this calendar year itself

In total, the Gujarat government signed MoU worth INR 15,000 Cr with both domestic and foreign firms on the first day of semiconductor conference in Gandhinagar

NextGen has committed INR 10,000 Cr to set up a compound semiconductor fab and opto-electronics facility in the state

Apple vendor Jabil plans to establish a silicon photonics manufacturing factory in Gujarat with an investment of around $125 Mn (INR 1,000 Cr).

As per news agency PTI, the electronics manufacturing company signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Gujarat government for setting up the plant during the IESA Vision Summit in the state’s capital Gandhinagar.

“As we look to the future, we are very excited to announce that we have plans to open a new factory in Gujarat. We are very excited to announce (an) MoU specific to silicon photonics manufacturing in the state of Gujarat today,” Matt Crowley, Jabil’s executive vice president of global business unit, was quoted as saying.

For context, silicon photonics are used for manufacturing components for high-speed data transmission applications, including data centres, telecom networks, and computing systems.

Crowley said that the silicon photonics unit will be operationalised in this calendar year itself.

“We believe photonics holds immense opportunity in advanced industries like autonomous vehicles, treatment as well as 5G network and artificial intelligence applications… Silicon photonics is very strategic for us. The plant will come up before the end of the calendar year,” he added.

Calling India the “right spot for investments to scale”, he said that the country’s labour force, growing economy and the government’s “willingness” to invest make it a healthy market.

In total, the Gujarat government signed proposals worth INR 15,000 Cr with both domestic and foreign firms on the first day of the mega semiconductor conference in Gandhinagar. Of this, NextGen alone committed INR 10,000 Cr to set up a compound semiconductor fab and opto-electronics facility in the state.

“Various MoUs indicating a potential investment of INR 15,000 Cr in the semiconductor sector in Gujarat were signed between stakeholders, including the state government, on the first day of the conference,” said Mona Khandhar, principal secretary in the state’s department of science and technology.

In addition, Taiwan Surface Mounting Technology also reportedly announced plans to set up a new electronics manufacturing services unit in the state with an investment of over INR 500 Cr. Meanwhile, IIT Gandhinagar signed an agreement with Tata Electronics for skill enhancement in the field of semiconductors.

Alongside, a tripartite MoU was also inked between Tata Electronics, Taiwanese firms PSMC and Himax Technologies for display semiconductors.