As the 5G race intensifies globally, Qualcomm, a key supplier of 5G chips for Apple, is grappling with geopolitical tensions, regulatory challenges, and the need to adapt to a rapidly evolving technological landscape in the Chinese ecosystem.  Moreover, Qualcomm’s future in China, a market contributing over 60% of its global revenue, remains uncertain as the company, once a dominant player, now faces intense competition from Chinese firms like Huawei and ZTE. 

In the face of new challenges, the fabless chip maker standing at a crossroads is now eyeing India as the next destination for its technology proliferation. 

The country has emerged as one of the fastest-growing 5G markets with total users standing at over 100 million just after a year of the technology rollout. Experts also believe that 5G will add $1 trillion to the global economy by 2035 and can add $150 billion to the Indian economy between 2025-40.

Exploring New Frontiers

In several interviews Savi Soin, Qualcomm’s newly-appointed India President, disclosed the company’s plans to replicate its successful China model in India. Qualcomm is all set to support the burgeoning local semiconductor ecosystem by licensing technologies to Indian firms and startups contingent upon the establishment of semiconductor fabrication units in the country. 

“Our CEO has said that if fabs or Outsourced Semiconductor Assembly and Testing (OSATs) come to India, we are going to bring business here,” said Soin.

“Any conversation we’re having with partners or government is that we bring tech and volumes. We’re very interested just like we did in China, in bringing the technology. We have a programme on mentorship (for startups), and we also bring scale,” he added.

Furthermore, Qualcomm is exploring the Indian government’s Rs 76,000 crore design-linked incentive (DLI) and Rs 80,000 crore production-linked incentive (PLI) schemes, which are aimed at developing the chip-making ecosystem in the country. 

Qualcomm’s President and CEO, Cristiano R Amon, seems to reiterate the same and had earlier said, “If our suppliers are motivated to build and they have the right incentives to build in India, we’re going to use their fab.” Amon highlighted the importance of cooperation between the US, Europe, and India to build a geographically diversified and resilient semiconductor supply chain.

The talks are advanced as Qualcomm is also exploring a partnership with Tata Group and the Indian government to potentially package its latest AI PC chip locally. The collaboration aims to leverage Indian manufacturing facilities for chip packaging.

Qualcomm’s CFO, Akash Palkhiwala, highlighted the significant opportunity in chip packaging and emphasised the close working relationship with Tata Group. The company recently introduced the redesigned Snapdragon Elite X chip optimised for AI tasks, set to be available in laptops next year. The company also introduced Snapdragon Seamless, a cross-platform technology enabling integration across Android, Windows, and Snapdragon devices.

Palkhiwala has disclosed the company’s intentions to lead the 6G market in India in collaboration with major Indian telecom operators Airtel and Jio. Palkhiwala highlighted discussions on spectrum allocation and network deployment requirements for 6G implementation. While currently focused on 5G deployment, Qualcomm’s proactive initiatives reflect a strategic approach to the future of telecommunications in India. 

These plans seem to align with the fact that the country has seen an explosion in investment to bolster chip fabrication infrastructure. Firms like Micron are already constructing a $2.75 billion semiconductor factory in Gujarat, while Foxconn’s $8 billion investment in India is expected to increase fivefold in the coming three years.

By working closely with Indian OEMs, Qualcomm aims to help them fast-track the integration of telematics, digital cockpits, entertainment systems, and more, mirroring the rapid developments seen in China.

A Shift of Focus

Qualcomm’s search for a new market to reduce their dependence on China has been a long time coming. 

Recently, the company has been under constant pressure due to challenges, from fending off a hostile takeover by Broadcomm to the blocked acquisition of NXP, which are not merely collateral damage from the US-China trade war. 

Instead, this reflects a larger battle between companies and China’s rising technological ambitions. Companies like Foxconn, Micron, NVIDIA amongst others have also tried to diversify their business to other geographies including India. 

While  Jensen’s search for new markets to re-route supply after restrictions on its A800 led to India and a meeting with PM Modi and other local business leaders—Micron sees new fabrication opportunities in the country and so does Apple supplier and Qualcomm counterpart Foxconn. 

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