Applied Materials pledges $5 billion to India without a start date
Applied Materials announced a $5 billion India investment through 2035 at SEMICON India on Thursday, September 17, 2026, and did not say whether it includes a 2023 pledge.
Chip-equipment maker Applied Materials announced a $5 billion, ten-year India plan at SEMICON India in New Delhi on Thursday. Prabu Raja, president of the Semiconductor Products Group, did not define today's base in dollars, give a current research headcount, phase the $5 billion, or set a groundbreaking date.
Raja said Applied is committing to a 140-acre advanced semiconductor research park with cleanrooms, engineering staff, and joint research with customers and suppliers. "Inventions done here must scale globally," he said. By 2035, he said, Applied aims to grow its India-based supply-chain capacity tenfold and to double its India research workforce. He said the company's India headcount has grown fourfold over the past decade to more than 7,000, without breaking out research staff.
The company did not name a location for the park. Karnataka's cabinet approved a 140-acre allocation to Applied at Bengaluru Signature Business Park, near the airport, on April 30.
The $5 billion is 12.5 times the $400 million Bangalore engineering center Applied announced in June 2023. Applied did not say whether the new figure includes that center or sits on top of it.
India has approved 12 semiconductor manufacturing projects, with three packaging plants in commercial production and the first fab scheduled to be commissioned in 2028.
VanEck's fund of US-listed chip and equipment companies SMH held Applied at 4.06% as of Thursday. iShares' fund of large US-listed semiconductor companies SOXX held it at 4.32% as of Wednesday. US regular trading had not opened on the news. A ten-year park-and-supplier plan does not reprice a 4% position this morning, and neither the park nor the tenfold target has a dated milestone to watch.
Frequently asked
What exactly did Applied Materials commit to?
A 140-acre advanced semiconductor research park with cleanrooms, engineering staff, and joint research with customers and suppliers.
Does the $5 billion include the earlier Bangalore engineering center?
Applied did not say whether the new figure includes that center or sits on top of it.
Where will the park be built?
The company did not name a location, though Karnataka's cabinet approved a 140-acre allocation to Applied at Bengaluru Signature Business Park near the airport.
Does this move the chip ETFs that hold Applied?
No: Applied is about a 4% position in the main US chip-equipment and semiconductor funds, and a ten-year park-and-supplier plan does not reprice that.