Lam Research signs MoU with IISc, Indian Semiconductor Mission to upskill workforce

Lam is donating nearly $29 million (Rs 241 crore) in software licenses over the next two years to enable 2,800 students, while ISM is supporting the establishment of infrastructure and operational costs, Lam Research said in a statement.

Lam Research Corp has announced the signing of a tripartite memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the India Semiconductor Mission (ISM) and the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) for broad deployment of ‘Semiverse Solutions’ to develop India’s semiconductor manufacturing workforce.

Initially announced as part of a joint statement and fact sheet issued by the governments of the United States and India at the White House in June 2023, the MoU signals the completion of the pilot in partnership with IISc and establishes a framework for expansion to multiple universities across India.

Lam is donating nearly $29 million (Rs 241 crore) in software licenses over the next two years to enable 2,800 students, while ISM is supporting the establishment of infrastructure and operational costs, Lam Research said in a statement.

IISc will “Train-the-Trainers” at the selected universities, while Lam will deploy a dedicated team of employees to support the expansion across the country.

"As India takes bold steps to establish a semiconductor industry, a virtual-physical fabrication world made possible with Semiverse Solutions will be critical to rapidly scale a workforce to meet industry demand," said Rangesh Raghavan, Corporate Vice President and General Manager at Lam Research India.

Semiverse Solutions leverage the full strength of Lam’s portfolio, including its capabilities in virtual technology, processing, and simulations, to deliver a boundary-less virtual learning and collaboration platform that fosters creativity and drives innovation with a significantly reduced cost and carbon footprint, the statement added.

“With two of the pilot’s participants already placed in a global tier-1 semiconductor manufacturing company, we are confident about the broad rollout of the course and its impact,” said Professor Srinivasan Raghavan, Chair of the Centre for Nano Science and Engineering at IISc.

Combined with program management and course curriculum customisation, the program is targeted to educate up to 60,000 Indian engineers in semiconductor fabrication technologies, over a ten-year period.