British semiconductor company Graphcore, a subsidiary of SoftBank Group, has announced the launch of a new AI engineering campus in Bengaluru, with plans to invest up to £1 billion (around ₹10,000 crore) over the next decade. The move aims to create 500 high-skilled semiconductor jobs, marking one of the largest UK-led AI hardware investments in India.

Bengaluru to host key AI chip engineering hub

The newly announced centre will serve as a core pillar in Graphcore’s global AI computing roadmap, contributing to SoftBank Group’s vision of becoming a leading artificial superintelligence (ASI) platform provider. Recruitment for the first 100 AI semiconductor engineering positions in India has already begun, covering roles in silicon logical design, physical design, verification, characterization, and chip bring-up.

Graphcore’s cofounder and CEO Nigel Toon said the India operation would play a strategic, integral role in the company’s global product development ecosystem.

“We want this to be a parallel team taking full ownership of the products on the roadmap. The idea of outsourcing or offshoring has very bad connotations. This is an integral part of the development team that builds complete products and manages their delivery,” Toon told The Times of India.

Advanced semiconductor design for global AI systems

The Bengaluru engineers will design next-generation semiconductor products used in global AI applications, including drug discovery, public health, sustainability, and business productivity.

“Today, we’re building at 2nm and 3nm — the most advanced technology process cores with custom cells. This is absolutely leading-edge development. We’re looking for the best of the best to join us on this mission to build the most advanced AI processor,” Toon said.

He added that Graphcore was hiring across front-end and physical design domains for complex multi-chip systems that form the backbone of AI computing infrastructure.

SoftBank’s growing AI footprint in India

Since being acquired by SoftBank in 2024, Graphcore has joined major AI infrastructure initiatives, including the $500 billion Stargate project — a partnership with OpenAI and Oracle focused on global AI data centre expansion.

SoftBank, which has already invested over $12 billion in India across its portfolio companies over the past decade, continues to see India as a strategic hub for AI and semiconductor innovation.

“India’s engineering ecosystem is now moving beyond support roles. This centre will allow Indian engineers to design high-performance chips that power global AI applications,” said Toon, emphasising India’s transition from a development hub to a core design and architecture contributor.

Building skills for next-generation chip design

Discussing how India could move up the semiconductor value chain, Toon highlighted the importance of collaboration between architecture and implementation teams.

“When developing high-performance chips, there are trade-offs between architecture and implementation. As engineers engage in both areas, they develop a holistic view of the product. This builds stronger skills and capabilities,” he said.

The CEO also noted that as Graphcore’s Indian operations expand, the company will gradually diversify into software development and AI algorithm engineering, creating an integrated hardware-software ecosystem in the country.

Bengaluru’s growing role in global AI innovation

Bengaluru, often called India’s Silicon Valley, has been attracting increasing foreign investment in semiconductors and AI hardware. With this new project, Graphcore joins a growing list of tech majors — including Intel, AMD, and Micron — that are deepening their R&D presence in India.

Industry experts view this as a significant step in positioning India not just as a talent base but as a global semiconductor innovation centre capable of leading-edge chip design.

Conclusion

Graphcore’s ambitious investment signals a major boost for India’s AI and semiconductor ecosystem. With £1 billion planned over the next decade and 500 new jobs in cutting-edge chip engineering, Bengaluru is set to become a global hub for AI hardware innovation — aligning with India’s broader goal of strengthening its semiconductor self-reliance under the “Make in India” and Digital India initiatives.