Lam Research signs MoU with the ISM and IISc to upskill semiconductor workforce

Lam Research has announced the signing of a tripartite memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the India Semiconductor Mission (ISM) and the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) for broad deployment of Semiverse Solutions to developing India’s semiconductor manufacturing workforce. Initially announced as part of a JOINT STATEMENT and FACT SHEET issued by the governments of the United States and India at the White House in June 2023, this MoU signals the successful completion of the pilot in partnership with IISc and establishes a framework for expansion to multiple universities across India.

Lam is donating nearly $29 million (INR 241 crores) in software licenses over the next two years to enable 2800 students, while ISM is supporting the establishment of infrastructure and operational costs. IISc will “Train-the-Trainers” at the selected universities, while Lam will deploy a dedicated team of employees to support the expansion across the country.

"As India takes bold steps to establish a semiconductor industry, a virtual-physical fabrication world made possible with Semiverse Solutions will be critical to rapidly scale a workforce to meet industry demand," stated Rangesh Raghavan, Corporate Vice President and General Manager at Lam Research India.

Semiverse Solutions leverage the full strength of Lam’s portfolio, including its capabilities in virtual technology, processing, and simulations, to deliver a boundary-less virtual learning and collaboration platform that fosters creativity and drives innovation with a significantly reduced cost and carbon footprint. Along with SEMulator3D®, Lam’s platform formed the cornerstone of the jointly developed curriculum for the pilot course that trained 35 engineers over a six-month period.

“With two of the pilot’s participants already placed in a global tier-1 semiconductor manufacturing company, we are confident about the broad rollout of the course and its impact,” said Professor Srinivasan Raghavan, Chair of the Centre for Nano Science and Engineering at IISc.

Combined with program management and course curriculum customization, this program is targeted to educate up to 60,000 Indian engineers in semiconductor fabrication technologies, over a ten-year period.

"It’s exciting to embark on this journey with Lam Research and the IISc. As the semiconductor ecosystem in India grows, effective skill development partnerships will be key to ensuring we can sustain the momentum," said Akash Tripathi, CEO, ISM.

The semiconductor industry faces a major talent shortage to meet anticipated future demand. Educating future semiconductor engineers is even more daunting as it is cost-prohibitive for academic institutions to provide physical access to the most advanced nanotechnologies. Simulating real-world labs virtually provides greater democratization of engineering skills training, heightened safety, improved sustainability, and greater access to new talent pools in an increasingly computer-aided design world. Virtual skills training with the Semiverse Solutions portfolio is already in use by Lam, its customers, and partner academic institutions in the United States.