Cadence’s India Bet Deepens as Chip Design Ecosystem Gains Momentum

US chip design software company Cadence is stepping up its India expansion as the country’s semiconductor ecosystem develops, with the company increasing partnerships with local chipmakers, startups and academic institutions.

According to a Moneycontrol report, India now accounts for nearly one-third of Cadence’s global workforce and has become a key centre for the company’s engineering and product development activities.

With around 4,800 employees, India is Cadence’s largest engineering base globally. Alok Jain, Corporate Vice President and India Managing Director at Cadence, told the publication that almost every business unit and technology area of the company is present in India, with teams contributing to product innovation and development.

The company currently operates across six locations in India and expects its expansion to continue based on business requirements.

Cadence’s Chip Partnerships Grow

Cadence said its India growth is being driven by rising demand from domestic semiconductor companies as more chip design and system design firms emerge.

“Traditionally, most of our work was with global semiconductor companies. But over the past decade we've increasingly started working with Indian companies,” Jain told the publication.

The company is also working with startups involved in chip design and artificial intelligence. Through the government’s “Chips to Startup Programme”, Cadence provides nearly 100 electronic design automation (EDA) tools across the semiconductor development cycle, along with technical training and mentorship.

Cadence also collaborates with IIT-Hyderabad’s fabless chip design incubator and connects startups with ecosystem partners through its annual CadenceLIVE conference.

Supporting India’s Semiconductor Ambitions

Beyond startups, Cadence is contributing to government-backed semiconductor projects, including the indigenous VEGA RISC-V microprocessor programme with C-DAC Thiruvananthapuram.

The company is providing EDA software support and helping with silicon implementation and supply chain requirements needed to move the processor from design to fabrication.

Cadence is also supplying software for the AUM high-performance computing processor developed by C-DAC Hyderabad with Socionext and MosChip. The project is expected to move for fabrication later this quarter, with silicon expected next year, Jain said.

The company is also expanding academic collaborations, including its Innovation Lab partnership with IIT-Delhi, while integrating artificial intelligence into its EDA tools to improve customer productivity and internal operations.