India to unveil indigenous GPU by year-end: Why it matters
What's the story
India is preparing to unveil a prototype of its first homegrown general purpose graphics processing unit (GPGPU) by the end of this year, as per Moneycontrol. The development marks a major step toward self-sufficiency in advanced semiconductor technologies. The GPGPU will be proof of concept for domestic GPU design capabilities, with an initial production target of just 29 units.
Development
Core architecture to be developed indigenously
The core architecture of the GPU, internally dubbed as "1xK" design, shall be developed locally. However, a senior government official stressed the importance of a complete ecosystem approach to make the chip functional. They said high-cost and high-complexity components require collaboration of different entities to develop support IPs like USB, memory controllers, and peripheral blocks.
Collaboration
Encryption key for locally designed GPUs
The government has also been in touch with global leaders like NVIDIA, AMD, and Intel. "For our locally designed GPUs, block design is encrypted, and the encryption key will remain with us," another senior government official told Moneycontrol. The official added that while global players will use this key during manufacturing for India, the IP at software and design levels will remain in the country.
Mission focus
ISM focuses on building key IPs
The official emphasized that India's chip designs relied on foreign IP blocks in the past, which made them susceptible to geopolitical or commercial problems. The India Semiconductor Mission (ISM) is now concentrating on developing and registering critical IPs in India. "The difference now is that we're not just buying and assembling. The IP will be Indian," the official said, ensuring access at critical moments cannot be denied.
Future plans
Commercial production expected to follow
After successful demonstration of the technology, commercial-scale production is expected. The official hopes to see broader deployment by the end of this decade. "By 2030, we expect the prototypes to transition into fully scalable products," they said. "Fabs will be ready by then, and India will start making these chips in volume."