HCLTech, Intel Foundry expand collaboration to build custom silicon solutions

Indian IT services firm HCL Technologies (HCLTech) is expanding its longstanding collaboration with Intel Foundry to co-develop customized silicon solutions for semiconductor manufacturers, system Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs), and cloud services providers to enhance foundry services, as stated in a release on Thursday. 

The partnership brings together HCLTech's design expertise with Intel Foundry's advanced technology and manufacturing capabilities to establish a resilient and diversified supply chain, marking a new era of innovation and excellence.

The collaboration aims to meet the increasing global demand for semiconductor manufacturing by catering to the diverse silicon needs of clients. It provides them with a robust and inclusive ecosystem for semiconductor sourcing. "Intel Foundry's advanced technologies and silicon-verified IPs in manufacturing and advanced packaging strengthen our delivery of innovative, accessible, and diverse solutions to our mutual clients," said Vijay Guntur, President of Engineering and R&D Services at HCLTech. This will also give them greater choice and flexibility in semiconductor sourcing, Guntur added.

HCLTech has been working with Intel for over three decades, and this collaboration has expanded over the years through shared offerings and joint investments in silicon services, hardware engineering, telecom services, servers, and storage engineering. "We are excited to further strengthen our collaboration with HCLTech to foster a strong and open ecosystem that is approachable and beneficial for all clients needing advanced silicon solutions," said Rahul Goyal, Vice President and GM of Product and Design Ecosystem Enablement at Intel Foundry.

To be sure, another Indian IT major, Wipro Limited, announced an expanded collaboration with Intel Foundry on February 21 to accelerate chip design innovation.

As the key design services and alliance partner, Wipro will work with Intel Foundry to accelerate the development of Intel’s most advanced process nodes, including the Intel18A process node. This collaboration is designed to address the rising demand for AI chip manufacturing as companies race to roll out generative AI-enabled products.

Intel hosted its first annual conference for its foundry business on Wednesday, where the chipmaker announced the launch of the "first systems foundry for the AI era," a collaboration with chip designer Arm (ARM), and named Microsoft as its latest customer for its custom chip business, among a slew of updates. 

The chipmaker aims to become the world's No. 2 foundry by 2030, establishing a key position of strength in a market dominated by a few players. Leading the market is Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), which held nearly 58% of the market in the third quarter of 2023, according to figures from TrendForce. TSMC has lucrative partnerships with companies like Apple, Qualcomm, and AMD.