CEO Interview: Sandeep Kumar of L&T Semiconductor Technologies Ltd.

Sandeep Kumar is the Chief Executive of LTSCT (L&T Semiconductor Technologies Ltd). A seasoned technology executive with over 35 years of experience, Kumar has a proven track record in building and scaling technology businesses globally.

As a pioneer in the Indian semiconductor industry, he has co-founded multiple technology ventures and holds leadership positions in several high-growth companies. His expertise spans technology development, finance, M&A, and global partnerships.

Currently, Kumar also serves as the Chief Mentor for the Indian government’s AI CoE, Neuron. He also chairs the boards of Qritrim (enterprise AI), Bhartel (communications, networking, and energy systems), and Mekumi (EdTech). He is also a Partner at Kizki Japan Fund, TMPC Japan, and Global Ascent Partners.

An active investor and advisor, Kumar is involved with numerous startups, MSMEs, and MNCs worldwide as a board member. His deep industry knowledge and extensive network make him a sought-after leader in the technology ecosystem. His global reach extends to the US, India, Japan, China, Taiwan, Chile, Mexico, Israel, and Russia.

Prior to his entrepreneurial pursuits, Kumar held key positions at established corporations. He was a Managing Partner at TechRanch incubator and held leadership roles at Texas Instruments, where he headed the Broadband Business Division and the Global Microcontroller R&D Division. He has also been a Partner at venture capital firms JVP and Crimson.

Tell us about your company?
L&T Semiconductor Technologies (LTSCT) is India’s first major fabless product semiconductor company, pioneering the next generation of semiconductor solutions. Our focus is on designing and delivering smart semiconductor devices for global markets, offering a wide range of semiconductor technologies that enable energy-efficient and high-performance systems. These solutions are critical in sectors like mobility, industrial, and energy.

Our product portfolio spans across smart analog, MEMS & sensors, RF and power electronics, helping sectors with competitive technology solutions. To achieve this, we are leveraging key trends such as electrification, data-driven technologies, and advanced processors. We are committed to supporting decarbonization and digitalization efforts globally, and our mission is to empower our customers with market-leading power, sense, and control integrated circuits.

With a strong presence across India, US, Europe, and Japan, we are positioned to deliver innovative semiconductor technologies and solutions to a diverse set of customers around the world. Our goal is to be a key driver of smart, efficient applications that address the critical needs of a rapidly evolving, tech-driven world.

What problems are you solving?

At L&T Semiconductor Technologies, we’ve chosen the path of chip design over chip manufacturing because we see a tremendous opportunity to address the technology-oriented transformation happening in critical sectors such as mobility, industrial, and energy. These sectors are evolving rapidly, moving from traditional hardware systems to more advanced solutions, creating demand for cutting-edge semiconductor technologies that can support innovations like smarter, more efficient vehicles, smart grids, and Industry 4.0. By focusing on chip design, we can lead the development of these technologies and meet the future needs of these industries.

By specializing in design, we can be agile, respond faster to market needs, and deliver cutting-edge semiconductor technologies that drive efficiency and future readiness. While India is ramping up its manufacturing, our long-term vision is to integrate both design and manufacturing, positioning ourselves as a global semiconductor leader with deep roots in India’s growth story.

What application areas are your strongest?

Our innovative product offerings focus on areas such as mobility, industrial, and energy infrastructure to usher in the next-generation applications.

In mobility, we are working on high-end silicon chips to support the shift toward software-defined vehicles and electric mobility. In the industrial space, our focus is on designing chips that drive automation and smart manufacturing, aligning with the Industry 4.0 movement. The energy sector is evolving with the rise of smart grids and renewable energy integration, and our chips enable real-time data flow and optimized power management in these environments.

In the long term, our goal is also to establish three distinct fabs, each requiring different levels of investment to cater to different technologies, ranging from high-end silicon to SiC and GaN chips. Thus, ensuring we address the specific needs of these sectors while leading the market. Investment decisions will depend on returns and the availability of financial incentives from the government at that time.

What keeps your customers up at night?

We are focusing on customers from mobility, industrial, and energy sectors, as these sectors are strategically important for India and are seeing an increasing push by the government to achieve localization and reduce dependency on global supply chains.  Therefore, our customers need to achieve supply chain resiliency. In addition, global efforts on net-zero and decarbonization are pushing our customers to achieve aggressive targets in a very short period.

LTSCT is a global company with a strong development footprint in India. India offers a stable source of design expertise, a large resource pool in semiconductors, and a nation that is looked upon by others as one that follows strong IP protection, and a non-monopolistic policy. Indian companies have transparency levels that are as advanced as any other free economy. LTSCT provides globally competitive semiconductor solutions to the world that help them diversify and secure a stable supply chain.

Our core vision is to develop ethical and secure solutions that help achieve decarbonization for a globally interconnected digital economy. We combine advanced technologies, creative system design, and strong IP to develop solutions that help our customers meet their net-zero goals while realising energy efficient, high-performance systems to benefit from data, electrification, and the latest technology trends.

What does the competitive landscape look like and how do you differentiate?

The global semiconductor design landscape is highly competitive, with companies vying for market share through mergers and acquisitions. Companies are also heavily investing in their R&D investments, especially areas like artificial intelligence, machine learning, Internet of Things (IoT), autonomous vehicles, and high-performance computing. The industry is witnessing a geographic shift, with Asia emerging as a major player. The growing demand for specialized chips and the rapid pace of technological advancements further intensify competition.

We are committed to driving the shift towards software-defined systems across focus domains. Our focus on chip design for innovations like advanced tech-driven vehicles, smart grids, and Industry 4.0 positions us as leaders in these rapidly evolving markets. LTSCT’s fabless model allows the company to stay agile and responsive to market demands, enabling faster development of cutting-edge technologies. We are leveraging our country’s strength in engineering and innovation while avoiding the massive capital costs associated with semiconductor fabrication. This strategy positions India to succeed in a complex and competitive market, even as it continues to scale its operations and workforce.

What sets us apart is our holistic, system-level approach—we work closely with clients to understand the entire system and deliver a differentiated solution. This includes ensuring software upgradability and adaptability, crucial across sectors/domains where over-the-air updates are becoming essential. Our global reach and local expertise ensure we bring the right innovation and differentiation to the market.

What new features/technology are you working on?

This is one of the most exciting times in the history of technology, specifically India’s semiconductor tech ecosystem. Semiconductors are changing how all industries operate and reimagining how conventional architecture is being designed and used. We are working towards creating innovative solutions to support India’s ambition to become a global semiconductor manufacturing hub by significantly elevating India’s technological capabilities.

Our recent partnership with IBM aims to harness our cutting-edge semiconductor design technology and IBM’s advanced processors to forge next-gen technology products through R&D. We are elevating India’s landscape of surveillance technology by developing a comprehensive range of indigenous Indian IP SoCs (Systems on Chips) for advanced AI IP CCTV products, through one of our collaborations.

Apart from corporate collaborations, we have partnered with C-DAC to create a powerful commercialisation programme for advanced technologies created by C-DAC in semiconductor design and development, embedded software, open-source OS, HPC, and power systems. We are transforming their portfolio of indigenous IPs into global products. Additionally, we have entered a partnership with one of the prominent institutions in the country, IIT Gandhinagar, to develop semiconductor solutions for projects of national importance.

We are thus, strategically collaborating with organisations and academia to create innovative semiconductor solutions with improved functionality and performance.

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