Intel To Invest Millions More In India

BANGALORE, India — Intel Corp. said Friday (Nov. 19) it is considering additional investments in the tens of millions of dollars to expand its research and development efforts in India.

Intel has so far invested about $40 million in its Indian operations and is looking to expand its presence, CEO Craig Barrett said during a visit here. He did not disclose precise investment figures.

Laying the cornerstone for a second research and development center here, Barrett said Intel's expansion will support high-end design and development work at its existing facility. "The Intel India Development center embodies our commitment to increasing our involvement and activities in India as the nation becomes part of the global high-tech economy," Barrett said.

The new investments also will be used in designing next-generation chip sets based on Intel's Centrino processor. Other focus areas include development and validation of laptop motherboards, thermal design support and designing and development of Windows-based graphics drivers for the Intel Extreme Graphics and Intel Graphics Media Accelerator product families.

The expansion efforts will also enable new work on Intel's enterprise microprocessor development. The work will encompass aspects of VLSI design and development, including logic, circuit, design automation, pre- and post-silicon validation and layout.Barrett also said healthcare will contribute heavily to the future growth of the semiconductor industry. This is the next big growth driver for the chip business, he added.