The Hindu Business Line : Xilinx sees big potential here for nextgen innovation

Hyderabad, Dec. 14 Fabless semiconductor solutions provider Xilinx Inc has created a new software and application development arm at its research and development centre in Hyderabad to complement its ongoing product development business.

The $1.8-billion semiconductor corporation has created over 60 intellectual property (IP) cores at its Hyderabad centre. These IP cores help cut short semiconductor development cycle.

As the company embarks on the next phase of growth, it sees the Asia Pacific region, particularly India, driving the next generation innovation in the areas of networking applications, wireless technologies, WiMax and Defence and space applications in particular.

Growing markets

The Senior Director, Vertical Markets and Partnerships, Xilinx, Mr Krishna Rangasayee, said that innovation at the Indian R&D centre is driven by business requirements in the region particularly in the areas of digital gadgets, telecom, automotives and Defence and space applications.

As part of this growth, the company has expanded the nature and scope of partnerships. Markets such as India and China are among the fastest growing in the region and offer immense potential for Xilinx’s FPGA solutions.

FPGA refers to Filed Programmable Gate Arrays which are much easier and cheaper to develop compared to Application Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs). FPGAs bring about flexibility to be used in multiple applications unlike ASICs.

Addressing a conference here on Thursday, the Managing Director of Xilinx India Technology Services, Mr Mallik Moturi, said that India is poised to emerge as one of the biggest consumers of semiconductors and is driving the next phase of digital convergence. About the Xilinx Venture Fund, Mr Krishna said that the company has earmarked a $75-million fund for investments in the region. Typically, this could range from $500,000 up to $5-10 million, depending on what the company specialises in. Typically, such investments would be in companies that complement Xilinx business.