New Delhi: India’s state-owned computer hardware development organization C-DAC has partnered with the world’s leading semiconductor developer Qualcomm to support Indian startups in the field of designing and manufacturing microprocessors and semiconductors in the country. Qualcomm India Private Limited (Qualcomm India), which is a part of the Qualcomm group of companies, plans to initiate and conduct the Qualcomm Semiconductor Mentorship Program (QSMP) 2022 for select startups from the semiconductor space in India. The idea is to provide and facilitate mentorship, technical training, and industry outreach.
The San Diego based Qualcomm creates semiconductors, software, and services related to wireless technology. The company, which was incorporated in Delaware, owns patents critical to the 5G, 4G, CDMA2000, TD-SCDMA and WCDMA mobile communications standards. For 2022, Qualcomm India has announced a collaboration with the C-DAC, an autonomous scientific society of the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, Government of India, who will be an outreach partner for the program and facilitate exposure for the participating startups.
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Under the partnership, C-DAC and Qualcomm India aim to nurture technical advancements and intellectual-property-driven innovation and product development required for semiconductor design in the Indian ecosystem. The partnership will also help reduce risks in innovation, accelerate the pace of business development; and develop the soft skills and knowledge base of Indian startups engaged in semiconductor design.
It will also facilitate access for the selected startups with domain experts, VCs, accelerators, incubators, industry associations and large companies that could help them scale up their business. Both Qualcomm and C-DAC will help create platforms and forums that provide opportunities to work with high-growth-potential small businesses and startups who have potentially disruptive technologies that could develop or reshape semiconductor supply chains in the future.
Qualcomm Semiconductor Mentorship Program
Qualcomm India will shortlist up to 10 Indian semiconductor startups for QSMP 2022. Each shortlisted startup will be paired with a Qualcomm India leader for mentorship on product planning and development. The startup and the mentor will meet on a periodic basis either in person or through online meetings.
Qualcomm India will also facilitate Masterclass workshops for the shortlisted startups on semiconductor design aspects such as design, testing, and verification packaging, as well as on non-technical topics such as pitches, IPR, marketing, government incentives/opportunities, and scaling up teams. C-DAC and Qualcomm India will help these startups to gain exposure to the public sector stakeholders through meetings, webinars, seminars and tradeshows so that the country can emerge as a semiconductor hub in the world.
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