Renesas Electronics Corporation announced that it will design 3-nanometer chips—an industry-first for the company—at its newly inaugurated Renesas Design Centre in Noida.
“We are proud to announce that, for the first time, 3-nanometer chips—an industry first—will be designed right here at the new Renesas Design Centre in Noida,” said Malini Narayanamoorthi, India Country Manager, Renesas Electronics Corporation. She added that the development marks a major milestone in Renesas’ strategy to build for the world from India.
The announcement was made during the inauguration of Renesas’ new R&D facilities in Noida and Bengaluru, aimed at strengthening its India operations and supporting the country’s ambitions in semiconductor innovation. The Japan-based chipmaker also signed two MoUs with the Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC) under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology’s Chips to Startup (C2S) programme to help academic institutions and startups accelerate chip design and embedded systems development.
Speaking at the Noida event, Ashwini Vaishnaw, Union Minister for Railways, I&B, and Electronics and IT, called the collaboration “a crucial step” toward realising India’s goal of becoming a semiconductor powerhouse.
Expansion into advanced design and talent building
Renesas will provide PCB design tools and development kits—including access to Altium Designer and the Altium 365 cloud platform—to over 250 academic institutions and 15 early-stage startups selected under the C2S programme. This will facilitate experiential learning and fast-track product innovation among students and entrepreneurs.
Malini highlighted that the company’s growing India presence is not just about capacity, but capability. “We’ve always been strong in system and product design. India offers a unique opportunity to push the boundaries of innovation—from embedded software to advanced silicon design,” she told ETAuto.
The newly opened Bengaluru facility has become Renesas’ largest site in India with over 500 employees, including R&D engineers, embedded software teams, and professionals from its acquired firms Altium and Part Analytics. The centre will be pivotal in Renesas’ global product development strategy.
The Noida office, meanwhile, will serve as a design and customer engagement hub, particularly focused on automotive, AI, and high-performance computing applications. The centre will play a central role in the development of Renesas’ flagship R-Car SoC platform for the automotive sector.
India-Japan Collaboration
Renesas CEO Hidetoshi Shibata, who joined the event virtually, described India as a “strategic cornerstone” in the company’s roadmap. “From ideation to lifecycle management, we aim to build a full-stack semiconductor ecosystem in India. This is not just expansion—it’s long-term collaboration,” he said.
The company plans to scale its India workforce to 1,000 employees by the end of 2025, with operations across Noida, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, and Pune.
In addition to the design centres, Renesas is engaged in an OSAT joint venture with CG Power and Stars Microelectronics in Gujarat and continues its academic partnerships, including coursework programs at IIT Hyderabad.
Shibata emphasised the need to empower local innovation ecosystems, adding, “By enabling startups and students with the tools they need, we’re helping catalyze India’s next generation of semiconductor leaders.”
