L&T Semiconductor to sign first clients by September: CEO

(Representative image)

India's L&T Semiconductor Technologies will sign contracts with six automobile companies by the end of September, making them its first clients, the company's chief executive said on Tuesday.

The total value of the contracts is $150 million per year, CEO Sandeep Kumar told Reuters in an interview.

The chip-design unit of India's biggest infrastructure firm Larsen and Toubro was set up in November 2023, with an investment of $100 million from its parent. The company currently does not generate revenue.

"We consciously focused on automotive first... the big plus on automotive is once you're in, generally that business will start in three years and go on for another ten years," Kumar said.

The company will sign three Indian automobile companies within two weeks and three European companies in the sector by the end of September, Kumar said. He did not disclose the name of the clients as they are due to make joint announcements.

Competing with Qualcomm QCOM.O and NXP Semiconductors NXPI.O, L&T Semiconductors designs chips for vehicles including car body-functions such as windows, air conditioning and power delivery.

L&T Semiconductor does not manufacture the chips it designs, but has plans to eventually build a factory.

"When we have line of sight to $1 billion in sales, we will start building a factory to build our products," Kumar said. He expects the company will make $1 billion in annual revenue in seven years.

"We need to have enough products in our pipeline that we can build in that factory and secure enough customers," he added.

Earlier this year, Tata Group-owned Tata Electronics began setting up the country's first semiconductor fabrication facility in the western state of Gujarat.