L&T Semiconductor bets on power devices, custom AI chips, and a sovereign stack for India
L&T Semiconductor is prioritizing power semiconductors and custom silicon for AI and data centers. CEO Sandeep Kumar framed the company as product-first: build the chips, then build the factories to make them. The firm is also working with government on grid deployments and pushing into mobility and communication modules as EVs and wireless traffic scale.
Why power semiconductors are the next product battleground
Power devices sit at the core of energy infrastructure and EV systems. Efficiency, thermal performance, and reliability are the levers that move unit economics at scale. Expect serious work in wide-bandgap materials like SiC and GaN for higher voltages, smaller systems, and better efficiency under real-world loads. For quick context on WBG benefits, see this overview from the U.S. Department of Energy on SiC and GaN.
Custom silicon for vertical workloads
Generic CPUs and GPUs don't always hit the right trade-offs for cost, latency, or energy per task. Kumar pointed to a shift: data centers and enterprises want chips tuned to their workloads-training, inference, storage, network offload, and security. In India, sectors like defense, finance, and agriculture need domain-specific architectures that integrate algorithm choices, memory hierarchy, and I/O around clear KPIs.
For product teams, this means tighter co-design across silicon, firmware, compilers, and model/tooling. If the software stack isn't ready, the silicon win won't show up in production metrics.
AI Learning Path for Product Managers can help teams operationalize roadmap, model selection, and go-to-market for specialized AI hardware.
Mobility and communication: modules that ship
L&T Semiconductor is building wireless modules and communication-focused products as EV adoption increases and data demand surges. Expect tighter integration between connectivity, edge compute, and battery management. Certification pipelines (EMI/EMC, safety, automotive-grade) and field telemetry become make-or-break for time-to-revenue.
From factories to a sovereign stack
Kumar argued that infrastructure alone won't close the gap. India generates a large share of global data, but a small share of storage and monetization sits in-country. His stance: build a sovereign stack-chips, cards, servers-so value capture and security live closer to where data is produced.
For companies, that implies prioritizing IP ownership, local supply resilience, and productization paths that meet domestic compliance while staying viable globally.
Security pressure: AI speeds attacks, quantum raises the bar
AI lowers the cost and time for offensive tactics, from phishing to code-level exploits. Quantum computing threatens current cryptography baselines. Product teams should begin migration planning to post-quantum primitives; NIST's program is a useful anchor for standards and timelines here.
Product playbook: What to do next
- Define workload-specific targets (latency, throughput/W, TCO/year) before selecting silicon.
- Evaluate SiC/GaN for converters, onboard chargers, traction inverters, and high-density PSUs.
- Treat software as part of the chip: compilers, kernels, and runtime need owners and SLAs.
- Prototype vertical chips with chiplet-friendly roadmaps to de-risk NRE and iterate faster.
- Build early partnerships for packaging, testing, and automotive/telecom certification.
- Instrument everything: field telemetry, health monitoring, and OTA update pipelines.
- Start a post-quantum crypto plan now; align HSMs, key management, and firmware update paths.
- Lock supply: multi-sourcing for critical components, and localized options where possible.
- Engage with policy and grid programs early to align requirements and win deployment slots.
Bottom line
L&T Semiconductor's direction is clear: own the product, solve real workloads, and build locally. For product leaders, the opportunity is to turn efficiency and sovereignty into measurable advantages-fewer watts, faster time-to-train, tighter security, and hardware that ships on schedule.
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