Local packaging is the foundation of a resilient semiconductor supply chain

As India accelerates its push toward semiconductor self-reliance, OSAT capability has emerged as a critical missing link. In this interview, Suchi Semicon Co-Founder Shetal Mehta shares the company’s journey, from launching Gujarat’s first advanced assembly and test facility to building globally benchmarked packaging capacity that supports India’s Atmanirbhar Bharat vision.

What inspired the founding of Suchi Semicon, and how does the company’s vision align with India’s growing ambitions in semiconductor manufacturing?

Suchi Semicon was founded in July 2023 by Ashok Mehta and me to address a critical missing link in India’s semiconductor value chain: domestic OSAT (outsourced assembly and test) capability. India has strengths in chip design, but packaging and test capacity have historically been dependent on overseas facilities. To solve this gap, we committed a $100 million investment, approximately ₹840–870 crore, to set up our first facility in Surat, which was inaugurated on 15 December 2024. This move directly aligns with India’s semiconductor vision under the India Semiconductor Mission, where building local Assembly and Packaging infrastructure is essential for reducing import reliance. Our plant contributes to this national objective by enabling local validation, packaging, and testing of integrated circuits at globally benchmarked standards.

How would you define Suchi Semicon’s core mission as it positions itself as a leading OSAT service provider in India?

Our mission is to build a globally competitive OSAT platform in India, enabling local IC assembly, packaging, and electrical testing at high reliability and throughput levels. We operate a 30,000 sq ft facility in Surat that houses Class 10K and 100K cleanroom environments essential for precision semiconductor manufacturing. Beginning with a pilot line capable of producing 300,000 chips per day, we have designed an expansion roadmap to scale output to nearly 3–4 million chips per day. This phased approach allows domestic and international customers to qualify their integrated circuits locally rather than overseas, improving time-to-market and reducing dependency on foreign packaging hubs. Ultimately, our goal is to support India’s semiconductor ecosystem with a facility that blends quality, scalability, and engineering co-development.

Could you highlight some key milestones in Suchi Semicon’s journey toward establishing itself as a reliable player in semiconductor assembly and testing?

Our journey is marked by several important milestones that reflect both commitment and execution. We began by announcing a capital expenditure of $100 million, over ₹840 crore, to build an advanced OSAT facility in Surat. In December 2024, we inaugurated this 30,000 sq ft plant and launched our pilot production line, starting with an initial capacity of 1.3L chips per day, scaling up to 3L chips per day. In early 2025, we achieved a major milestone by shipping our first domestically packaged chip to a U.S. customer for validation, demonstrating our ability to meet global quality expectations. We have also initiated the next phase of expansion, which targets scaling production to around 3–4 million chips per day through additional equipment installation. These milestones form the foundation for global competitiveness.

What advanced IC packaging and testing capabilities set Suchi Semicon apart in terms of precision, innovation, and efficiency?

Our 30,000 sq ft facility integrates Class 10K and 100K cleanrooms that support highly controlled manufacturing operations essential for semiconductor assembly. We offer a full packaging workflow that includes wafer preparation, wafer sawing, die attach, wire bonding, moulding, marking, and final seal and test. Our engineering team collaborates closely with customers to shorten qualification cycles for complex packages. With scalable floor space and infrastructure, we have planned capacity ramp-ups that will take production from the current 300,000 chips per day to 3–4 million chips per day. This integrated approach gives us strength in precision, speed, and readiness for advanced packaging demands.

How does the company ensure high-quality output, scalability, and flexibility across diverse customer segments and product lines?

Quality, scalability, and operational flexibility are built into our systems from the outset. We are officially ISO 9001:2015, ISO 14001:2015 and ISO 45001:2018 certified. Each manufacturing stage is documented with full traceability. Our modular expansion approach enables us to scale from the pilot capacity through additional lines and equipment. Flexibility is supported by diverse package types and a co-development model that allows customisation for different customer requirements. We also aim to create approximately 1,200 jobs over five years, ensuring that we have a trained workforce ready as capacity expands. Together, these pillars enable reliable output, efficient scaling, and sustained manufacturing consistency.

How is Suchi Semicon integrating innovation and R&D initiatives to strengthen its technological competitiveness in the OSAT domain?

Innovation is embedded into our operational and engineering framework. We co-develop packaging architectures and test flows with customers, enabling faster qualification cycles and improved manufacturability. Our R&D efforts are supported through MoUs with IIT B, Gujarat Technological University and Sardar Vallabhbhai National Institute of Technology, helping us access talent, research support, and process-development partnerships.

What role do partnerships and collaborations play in enhancing Suchi Semicon’s capabilities and expanding its customer ecosystem?

Partnerships form an essential part of our technology-building and capacity-expansion strategy. We work with academic institutions such as GTU and SVNIT to develop skilled talent through structured training and internship programs. On the technology front, we collaborate with global equipment and process partners to ensure smooth process transfer, faster qualification, and adherence to global packaging standards. Our customer partnerships involve joint development of packaging flows, which helps reduce time-to-production and enhances reliability for end applications. These collaborations collectively strengthen our ability to serve customers across industrial, automotive, consumer, and export markets. By building an ecosystem rather than operating in isolation, we accelerate capability development and create a strong base for both domestic and international semiconductor customers.

How is the company addressing skill development and workforce training to meet the demands of advanced semiconductor manufacturing?

We aim to create approximately 1,200 jobs over five years as part of our growth roadmap. To ensure the required talent pipeline, we have partnered with academic institutions such as GTU and SVNIT for structured training programs that include classroom modules, clean-room practices, and hands-on process exposure. We have also onboarded experienced engineers, including professionals from Malaysia, to help establish early process maturity and international benchmarking. These initiatives help us build a capable workforce that can maintain high yields, operational discipline, and continuous improvement.

How does Suchi Semicon contribute to building a self-reliant semiconductor ecosystem in India and support the country’s Atmanirbhar Bharat mission?

Our investment of nearly $100 million (₹840–870 crore) in Gujarat’s first OSAT facility supports India’s goal of building domestic semiconductor packaging and testing capacity. India’s semiconductor consumption market is growing rapidly across electronics, automotive, telecom, and industrial sectors, yet continues to rely heavily on imports for chip packaging and validation.

With an initial capacity of 300,000 chips per day, scalable to 3–4 million chips per day, the facility enables Indian designers and OEMs to validate and source packaged chips locally, reducing import dependence, improving supply-chain resilience, and accelerating time-to-market.

In early 2025, we exported our first packaged devices to a U.S. customer for validation, demonstrating globally competitive manufacturing quality from India. The facility also supports skilled job creation and technology capability development, advancing the Atmanirbhar Bharat objective of a self-reliant and globally competitive semiconductor ecosystem.

What sustainability and growth strategies is Suchi Semicon adopting to ensure long-term success and global competitiveness?

Our long-term strategy is phased and execution-driven, focused on building a resilient and globally competitive OSAT operation. We began with a $100 million investment (approximately ₹840–870 crore) to establish the Surat OSAT facility, designed with modular cleanroom infrastructure that allows demand-linked capacity expansion through the addition of tools and production lines.

A core pillar of our strategy is quality-led manufacturing. We have deployed top-of-the-line equipment sourced from leading vendors across multiple countries, ensuring alignment with global semiconductor standards. This global sourcing approach enables consistent process performance, high yields, and long-term operational reliability.

Equally critical is talent. Our leadership and engineering teams bring extensive experience from international semiconductor markets, providing strong operational foundations, disciplined process execution, and global best practices from day one.

In parallel, we are standardising manufacturing processes, strengthening process-control systems, and increasing supply-chain localisation to improve resilience and cost efficiency. We have also entered into MoUs with leading academic institutions to support R&D, workforce training, and skill development, ensuring a sustainable talent pipeline.

Together, these strategies position us for sustained competitiveness as a reliable OSAT partner for both domestic and export markets