Applied Materials’ VC arm announces investment in VVDN Technologies

Applied Ventures, the venture capital arm of US-based Applied Materials, announced on Monday that it is making a growth equity investment in VVDN Technologies. This growth funding from Applied ventures is expected to help the India-based electronics product design, software, and manufacturing company to expand the research and development of next-generation semiconductor technologies as well as electronic products and solutions. VVDN is also looking at enhance design and manufacturing capabilities to serve global semiconductor and systems companies.

“Our investment and collaboration with VVDN align with Applied Ventures’ commitment to advancing India’s electronic product engineering and design capabilities and fostering innovation and entrepreneurship to create a thriving semiconductor ecosystem,” said Omkaram Nalamasu, senior VP and CTO, Applied Materials, and president of Applied Ventures.

To be sure, the Gurugram-headquartered contractual manufacturer announced in February 2023 that it would be investing $100 million in the next five years to expand its manufacturing facilities to meet global demand. As part of its expansion, the company set-up a new manufacturing facility in Pollachi near Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, and opened a new antenna manufacturing facility in Manesar near Gurugram in Haryana.

In a statement, Puneet Agarwal, chief executive of VVDN Technologies, had then said that the company also plans to add fabrication or manufacturing of printed circuit boards (PCBs) to its abilities within the next one or two years, in order to have a full-stack manufacturing facility. The company presently has testing, mechanical processes, circuit assembly and engineering facilities, which are spread across its six manufacturing facilities in Manesar, and the one facility in Pollachi.

US-headquartered Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) announced partnership with VVDN in October 2023 to start manufacturing in India and that it will produce some of its high-volume servers worth $1 billion in the first five years. These high-runner servers, will be manufactured at the VVDN Technologies plant in Manesar in Haryana, the company said in a statement, adding that this manufacturing operation will support the growing demand from customers in India and further strengthen and diversify HPE’s global supply chain.