Ericsson (NASDAQ: ERIC) has announced the launch of a new Application-Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC) development unit in Bengaluru, India, marking a significant expansion of its semiconductor R&D footprint. The Swedish telecom infrastructure developer will add over 150 engineering roles to this initiative, integrating Bengaluru into its global Ericsson Silicon strategy and reinforcing its bet on programmable network infrastructure for both 5G and future 6G deployments.
The expansion, announced on June 26, 2025, is part of Ericsson’s broader commitment to increase its in-house semiconductor design capabilities at a time when telecom gear makers are under pressure to optimize performance, reduce power consumption, and accelerate time-to-market for custom chips.
With this move, Ericsson is positioning Bengaluru as a global hub for ASIC innovation, complementing its existing R&D facilities in Chennai and Gurugram. The new team will work on Ericsson Silicon—custom-built System-on-Chip (SoC) designs that are embedded across its entire Radio Access Network (RAN), Compute, Radio, and Transport product lines.
Why is Ericsson establishing an ASIC design centre in Bengaluru, and how does it fit into its global R&D strategy?
According to Ericsson India Managing Director Nitin Bansal, expanding the ASIC team in Bengaluru is a strategic effort to leverage India’s growing semiconductor talent pool while also contributing to the domestic chip ecosystem. He noted that the new roles would be central to advancing semiconductor design capabilities for the Ericsson Silicon platform and helping India deepen its participation in the global semiconductor value chain.
The decision is in line with Ericsson’s broader strategy of vertically integrating its network stack, ensuring tight coupling between silicon and software. Anna Dicander, Vice President of Radio & Transport Engineering at Ericsson, stated that this expansion would directly support the launch of innovative, energy-efficient, and high-performance telecom products. By scaling ASIC operations in India, Ericsson aims to reinforce its global innovation cycle while aligning with local industry development goals.
Industry analysts suggest the move is a response to the evolving market dynamics where network hardware suppliers are shifting toward proprietary silicon to improve flexibility, security, and energy optimization. Ericsson’s R&D investments allow it to retain architectural control over its hardware-software interface, a move increasingly seen across the telecom and hyperscale infrastructure sectors.
What strategic advantages does ASIC development offer for Ericsson’s programmable network ambitions?
ASICs play a central role in modern telecommunications equipment, particularly in 5G and upcoming 6G infrastructure. They enable custom performance tuning, advanced AI integrations, and ultra-low-latency processing at the edge. Ericsson’s proprietary SoC designs under the Ericsson Silicon label are already used across its mobile infrastructure, and the new unit in Bengaluru will extend this foundation.
By housing ASIC development in Bengaluru, Ericsson is expected to gain significant agility in design iterations, cross-functional collaboration, and talent scalability. The integration of ASICs within Ericsson’s RAN Compute and transport systems enables more efficient deployment scenarios—ranging from dense urban environments to rural 5G rollouts—with reduced hardware footprint and energy consumption.
Anna Dicander emphasized that the Bengaluru ASIC unit would serve as a key enabler in shaping future networks that are both programmable and power-efficient, addressing operator demands for performance, customization, and sustainability. The integration of SoCs across Ericsson Radio System further enhances the potential of AI-augmented and cloud-native network deployments.
How does this development contribute to India’s semiconductor ecosystem and digital infrastructure roadmap?
Ericsson’s latest expansion aligns with India’s national ambition to become a semiconductor design and manufacturing powerhouse. The government’s Semicon India Programme, launched in 2022 with a proposed outlay of INR 76,000 crore (approx. USD 9.3 billion), aims to build end-to-end capabilities in chip design, packaging, and fabrication.
Bengaluru, already home to dozens of global design centres for companies like Intel, Qualcomm, and AMD, is rapidly emerging as a high-value ASIC and SoC engineering hub. Ericsson’s decision to locate its chip R&D centre in the city reflects the growing confidence among multinationals in India’s ESDM (electronics system design and manufacturing) ecosystem.
Experts note that by embedding high-end silicon design into India’s broader telecom innovation stack, Ericsson is enabling knowledge transfer, skills development, and potential downstream linkages with India’s upcoming chip fabrication facilities. While the current move is focused on design and architecture, it could open the door to more integrated upstream and downstream semiconductor capabilities in the country over the medium term.
What does this signal about Ericsson’s global R&D and capital allocation strategy?
Ericsson invests approximately USD 5 billion annually in research and development. A portion of this capital is allocated to cutting-edge silicon R&D, driven by demand for integrated, low-power chipsets that support open, programmable, and AI-ready telecom infrastructure.
With this Bengaluru expansion, Ericsson is realigning its capital and talent strategy to be closer to scalable, cost-effective innovation centres. The integration of global ASIC teams across Sweden, the U.S., and now India suggests a hub-and-spoke model for future design convergence. This approach is also expected to improve resilience against geopolitical disruptions in chip supply chains.
From an institutional perspective, the expansion has been received positively. Investors interpret the move as a sign of Ericsson’s long-term strategic discipline. Analysts believe that such focused investments in proprietary silicon could drive differentiation in performance benchmarks, network total cost of ownership (TCO), and energy optimization—all critical metrics in 5G and 6G infrastructure decisions.
What is the future outlook for Ericsson’s semiconductor and programmable network roadmap?
Ericsson’s roadmap includes further integration of AI accelerators, software-defined radio functions, and modular SoCs to adapt to evolving RAN architectures. With 6G research already underway through the Ericsson India 6G Research Team in Chennai, the ASIC R&D capabilities in Bengaluru are expected to play a key role in delivering SoCs tailored for future radio technologies and network topologies.
Future iterations of Ericsson Silicon may also incorporate new packaging innovations, silicon photonics, or 3D heterogeneous integration, requiring close coordination across its global R&D centres. Analysts forecast that custom silicon will increasingly be embedded not only in macrocell equipment but also in small cells, Open RAN components, and telecom edge nodes.
The integration of the Bengaluru unit into Ericsson’s existing workflows ensures that it will contribute not just to near-term 5G product enhancements, but also to long-term architectural shifts that will define 6G and beyond. As telcos worldwide seek higher performance per watt, lower latency, and network slicing capabilities, Ericsson’s continued investment in ASIC design could be instrumental in securing high-value network contracts in both emerging and developed markets.
What does Ericsson’s Bengaluru ASIC expansion reveal about the future of telecom silicon localization and innovation?
Ericsson’s new ASIC development hub in Bengaluru is more than an operational expansion—it is a strategic rebalancing of global chip design capabilities toward an innovation-rich and cost-optimized market. By adding 150+ roles dedicated to custom silicon for telecom infrastructure, Ericsson is embedding India deeper into the future of programmable networks. The move not only supports the company’s silicon differentiation strategy but also echoes broader trends in the global telecom and semiconductor industries toward in-house chip design and supply chain localization. As Ericsson’s ASIC roadmap matures, Bengaluru may well become central to its future product cycles, platform architecture, and telecom network breakthroughs worldwide.
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