One of the biggest challenges for a VLSI fresher is simply knowing who to apply to. Everyone knows Intel and NVIDIA, but the semiconductor industry is a massive ecosystem comprising hundreds of companies.
If you are a student looking for internships or placements, you need to look beyond the top 10 names.
This guide categorizes the major VLSI players into Business Models(IDMs, Fabless, Foundries) and highlights the Startupsthat are disrupting the industry.
1. Integrated Device Manufacturers (IDMs)
The "Big Daddies" of the industry. These companies design their own chips ANDown the factories (Fabs) to manufacture them.
| Company | Core Domain | India Presence? |
|---|---|---|
| Intel | CPUs, Servers, FPGAs | Yes (Bangalore, Hyderabad) |
| Samsung Semi | Memory, Mobile SoCs, Foundry | Yes (Bangalore, Noida) |
| Texas Instruments | Analog, Power Mgmt, DSPs | Yes (Bangalore - First MNC in India !) |
| Micron | DRAM, NAND Flash Memory | Yes (Hyderabad, Sanand) |
| SK Hynix | Memory, Storage | Yes (Bangalore) |
| STMicroelectronics | Microcontrollers (STM32), Sensors | Yes (Noida, Bangalore) |
| Infineon | Automotive, Power Electronics | Yes (Bangalore) |
| NXP | Automotive, Connectivity, Radar | Yes (Noida, Bangalore, Pune) |
| Analog Devices (ADI) | Signal Processing, Data Converters | Yes (Bangalore) |
| Renesas | Automotive, Microcontrollers | Yes (Bangalore) |
| Microchip | Microcontrollers (PIC/AVR), Mixed-Signal | Yes (Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad) |
| Western Digital | Storage Controllers (SSD/HDD) | Yes (Bangalore) |
2. Fabless Product Companies
The "Architects." They design the chips (RTL to GDSII) but outsource the manufacturing to Foundries like TSMC.
| Company | Core Domain | India Presence? |
|---|---|---|
| NVIDIA | GPUs, AI, Automotive | Yes (Bangalore, Pune, Hyderabad, Gurugram) |
| Qualcomm | Mobile (Snapdragon), 5G, WiFi | Yes (Bangalore, Hyderabad, Chennai) |
| Broadcom | Networking, Connectivity | Yes (Bangalore, Hyderabad, Pune) |
| AMD | CPUs (Ryzen), GPUs (Radeon) | Yes (Bangalore, Hyderabad) |
| MediaTek | Mobile SoCs, Multimedia | Yes (Bangalore, Noida) |
| Apple (Silicon) | Mobile & Mac SoCs (A-series, M-series) | Yes (Bangalore, Hyderabad) |
| Marvell | Cloud, 5G, Automotive, Storage | Yes (Bangalore, Pune) |
| Cirrus Logic | Audio, Voice, Mixed-Signal | Yes (Hyderabad) |
| Xilinx (now AMD) | FPGAs | Yes (Hyderabad) |
| Google (Silicon) | Tensor Processing Units (TPU) | Yes (Bangalore) |
| Microsoft (Silicon) | Azure Cloud Chips | Yes (Bangalore, Hyderabad) |
| Cisco | Networking ASICs | Yes (Bangalore) |
3. The Toolmakers (EDA & IP)
The "Backbone." You cannot design a chip without their software (EDA) or their pre-designed blocks (IP).
| Company | Role | Famous Products |
|---|---|---|
| Synopsys | EDA & IP | Design Compiler, VCS, ICC2 |
| Cadence | EDA & IP | Virtuoso, Innovus, Xcelium |
| Siemens EDA | EDA | Calibre (DRC/LVS), Tessent (DFT) |
| Ansys | Simulation | RedHawk (Power Analysis) |
| ARM | Processor IP | Cortex-A, Cortex-M cores |
| Imagination | GPU IP | PowerVR GPUs |
| Rambus | Memory IP | High-speed interface IP |
4. Service-Based VLSI Companies
The "Execution Powerhouses." These companies take on design projects from the giants. They are excellent places for freshers to get hands-on experience across multiple domains.
- Wipro(VLSI & System Design)
- HCLTech(Verification, Physical Design)
- Tessolve(Test Engineering, DFT, PCB)
- Tata Elxsi(Automotive, Broadcast)
- MosChip(ASIC Design, Mixed Signal)
- Sankalp Semiconductor(Analog focus - acquired by HCL but operates distinctly)
- UST Global(ASIC Design)
- L&T Technology Services (LTTS)
- Quest Global
- Mirafra Technologies(Design & Verification Services)
- SmartPlay(Acquired by Aricent/Capgemini)
- eInfochips(Acquired by Arrow)
5. The Startups (The "High Growth" Zone)
If you want to work on the bleeding edge of RISC-V or AI, look here. These companies are smaller but offer massive learning opportunities.
AI & Hardware Accelerators
- Tenstorrent:Building AI computers with RISC-V (Led by Jim Keller).
- Groq:Creators of the LPU (Language Processing Unit) for ultra-fast AI inference.
- Cerebras:Famous for the "Wafer-Scale Engine"(the world's largest chip).
- SambaNova:Integrated AI hardware/software solutions.
- Graphcore:Intelligence Processing Units (IPUs).
RISC-V & Processors (India & Global)
- SiFive:The founders of RISC-V commercialization.
- InCore Semiconductors (Chennai):India's indigenous RISC-V processor designers (Shakti based).
- Mindgrove Technologies:Building secure IoT SoCs (IIT Madras incubated).
- Ventana Micro Systems:High-performance RISC-V for Data Centers.
Connectivity & Analog (India Focus)
- Saankhya Labs:Software Defined Radio (SDR) and 5G.
- Signalchip:4G/5G modem chips.
- Agnit Semiconductors:Gallium Nitride (GaN) for power and RF.
- Calligo:POSIT arithmetic-based accelerators for HPC.
6. The Manufacturers (Foundries)
You likely won't design chips here (unless you are in their PDK/Library teams), but they build the wafers.
- TSMC(Taiwan) - The World Leader.
- GlobalFoundries(USA/Singapore/Germany).
- Samsung Foundry(Korea/USA).
- UMC(Taiwan).
- Tower Semiconductor(Israel/USA) - Specialty Analog.
- SMIC(China).
Summary for Freshers
- To specialize in Architecture/Design:Target Fabless (NVIDIA, AMD, Qualcomm).
- To specialize in Analog/Circuit Design:Target IDMs (TI, Analog Devices).
- To get a foot in the door & learn basics:Target Service Companies (Wipro, HCL, Tessolve).
- To learn EVERYTHING fast:Target Startups (InCore, Mindgrove, Tenstorrent).
The semiconductor industry is vast, and understanding these categories is the first step to finding your niche. Start your VLSI journey today on HDL2Chipsand practice the skills that these companies are looking for !