Faced with talent shortage, semiconductor startups are coming up with innovative, homegrown strategies to bridge the skills gap. With the domestic semiconductor industry projected to face a shortfall of 250,000-300,000 professionals by 2027, according to a TeamLease Degree Apprenticeship report, startups are no longer waiting for systemic change, but are building solutions from the ground up.

While India has long been a global hub for chip design, drawing major players like Intel, Qualcomm and Nvidia to set up design facilities, the crunch is most acutely felt in manufacturing and allied verticals such as advanced packaging, process engineering and fabrication. To address this, companies are now investing in targeted training, re-purposing talent from adjacent domains, and collaborating with academia to create new pipelines.

For instance, Bengaluru-based Agnit, is offering intensive 90-120-day role-specific training programmes to equip employees with the necessary skills. “This close integration allows us to efficiently upskill our employees and ensure they are aligned with the technical demands of their roles,” said Hareesh Chandrasekhar, CEO and co-founder of Agnit.

Recognising that talent is particularly scarce beyond very-large-scale integration (VLSI) design, Agnit has also turned to India’s growing expat engineer network for expertise. Chandrasekhar pointed out that universities have traditionally focused on areas with job availability, leaving critical domains like fabrication and process control under-explored.

To overcome this, Agnit has adopted a strategy of hiring from adjacent industries, such as material science and chemical engineering, and putting these recruits through rigorous, custom-designed training on compound semiconductor technologies. The startup currently has 22 team members and plans to add another 12-14 over the coming year in roles spanning RF design, device engineering, semiconductor fabrication, and quality assurance.

Similarly, another startup, Mindgrove Technologies, is tackling the issue by tapping into college campuses early. The company actively collaborates with students through internships and final-year projects, investing in foundational training off-payroll before on-boarding. “We always look for fundamentals like computer architecture and electronic devices,” said Shashwath TR, CEO and co-founder. For Shashwath, the problem is not just the number of candidates but the lack of practical experience. “Getting more lab time, more hands-on work, and encouraging open-ended exploration will make the difference,” he said.

It’s not just startups that are acting with urgency. Tata Electronics, which is setting up a `91,000 crore semiconductor fabrication facility in Dholera, Gujarat, is reportedly sending hundreds of employees to Taiwan for specialised semiconductor training.

CDIL Semiconductors, one of the country’s oldest players in the field, has launched several initiatives to foster new talent. In 2024, it introduced the India Semicon Challenge, a talent hunt conducted across campuses in north India. Over 1,000 students participated, and the shortlisted candidates were invited to CDIL’s Mohali facility for a day-long exposure involving aptitude tests, group discussions and a walk-through of semiconductor manufacturing processes. “The idea is simple. Bring young engineers into the heart of the action and show them how fulfilling life in semiconductor manufacturing can be,” said Prithvideep Singh, general manager at CDIL.

The company has since partnered with more than 11 institutions, including IITs, NITs, IIITs, and NSUTs, for training programmes, internships, and collaborative R&D efforts. Singh added that every company in the space has unique needs, which makes finding the right talent even harder. “In this industry, self-learning isn’t a bonus, it’s the baseline,” he said.

India currently has 389 active semiconductor firms, with over 216 of them founded after 2010, according to data from Tracxn. Funding into semiconductor startups has also seen a sharp uptick, from $1.5 million in 2022 to $21.3 million in 2024, helping fuel training and development efforts.