AMD has been a cornerstone of the computing industry for decades now. Along with names like Intel and Nvidia, the American chipmaker, since its inception in 1969, has given the world some of the most memorable microprocessors in history. Today, it is playing a pivotal role on both the client and enterprise side. It is among the world's leading semiconductor companies, designing high-performance computing, graphics, and visualisation technologies. Headquartered in Santa Clara, California, AMD competes directly with Intel in CPUs with its Ryzen series chips and with NVIDIA in data centre AI GPUs with its Epyc and Instinct chips, two of the most consequential markets in the global technology industry.
The Global Context
That story changed fundamentally under CEO Dr Lisa Su, who took the helm in 2014 and orchestrated a decade-long product and strategic turnaround that has made AMD one of the fastest-growing chip companies in the world.
Today, AMD's business spans four major segments: Data Centre (CPUs and AI GPUs), Client (Ryzen PCs and laptops), Gaming (consoles and discrete graphics cards), and Embedded (FPGAs and adaptive SoCs). The company does not manufacture chips itself; it partners with TSMC as its primary foundry.
AMD's fiscal year 2025 was its best ever by almost every measure, cementing its position as a genuine force in both AI infrastructure and consumer computing. With USD 34.6 billion of annual revenue, with data centre revenue leading the charge with USD 16.6 billion.
The year 2025 was especially monumental for the company. In October 2025, AMD and OpenAI announced a landmark multi-billion-dollar partnership that immediately elevated AMD's standing in the AI ecosystem. The deal was widely analysed as an attempt by OpenAI to diversify away from NVIDIA dependency while giving AMD both the revenue commitment and the credibility of OpenAI's public endorsement.
Meta has broadly deployed AMD Instinct MI300X for Llama 3 and Llama 4 inference at scale. Meta and AMD are collaborating closely on AI roadmaps, including plans for the MI400 platform. Microsoft Azure runs both proprietary Copilot models and open-source AI models in production on AMD Instinct MI300X. AMD and Microsoft are also collaborating on next-generation silicon design, and AMD processors power Azure's commercial AI workloads. IBM Cloud added AMD Instinct MI300X GPUs in H1 2025, with support for AMD accelerators within IBM's WatsonX AI platform and Red Hat Enterprise Linux AI inferencing.
The India Story
AMD's India story began in 2001 with a handful of engineers in New Delhi, making it one of the earliest global semiconductor companies to establish a serious engineering presence in India. The initial design centre in Bengaluru opened its doors in 2004.
Today, AMD India is the company's single largest engineering presence anywhere in the world. Approximately 25 per cent of AMD's entire global workforce is based in India, numbering well over 8,000 engineers as of 2023-24, spread across Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Delhi, Gurgaon, Mumbai, and Hyderabad. Nearly every AMD business unit, from CPUs and GPUs to FPGAs, networking, and AI software, has significant engineering representation in India.
AMD's most significant India investment materialised in November 2023 with the inauguration of its AMD Technostar R&D campus in Bengaluru. This campus is not merely AMD's largest in India; it is the largest AMD facility anywhere in the world. An area of 5,00,000 square feet, around three thousand engineers, and a USD 400 million investment commitment. The campus was inaugurated by Union Cabinet Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, who described it as 'a testament to the confidence global companies have in India.'
AMD India is currently being led by Jaya Jagadish, one of the most senior India-based executives at any global semiconductor company, with over three decades in the semiconductor industry.
India's semiconductor ambitions have never been more prominent. The Union government approved the Semicon India programme with an outlay of Rs 76,000 crore, covering design, manufacturing, and the full ecosystem. Budget 2026 saw the government allot Rs 1,000 crore to ISM 2.0. India's semiconductor market was valued at USD 22.7 billion in 2019. It was around USD 45 to 50 billion in FY25 and is projected to grow to nearly USD 120 billion by 2030 and USD 300 billion by 2035.
BW Businessworld interacted with Jaya Jagadish, Country Head and SVP for Design Engineering, AMD India, for a detailed interaction about AMD’s ambitions in India, its performance in the last two decades, the company’s role in the development of the local semiconductor ecosystem, and much more. Our story tries to focus on the India aspect more and attempts to figure out what AMD’s India arm has been up to and what lies ahead for the company in India.
Here are excerpts from the interview.
Q: AMD has surpassed two decades in India. Looking back, what do you consider the three most pivotal milestones that transformed the India centre from a supporting site into a strategic hub that now houses your largest global design centre?
JJ: Crossing the two-decade milestone in India is both a moment of pride and reflection for us at AMD. Over these years, our India operations have evolved from a supporting site into a strategic hub that plays a central role in the company’s global product development.
We initially focused on building the right technical foundation from the start. In 2004, we set up silicon and software teams simultaneously. While software talent was readily available, developing silicon expertise required us to invest heavily in training. We designed our own courses, focused on real-world problem-solving, and built a culture of continuous learning. This created a highly skilled engineering base capable of taking on complex work.
We also simultaneously worked on earning global trust through collaboration. Early on, we positioned India as a true partner to worldwide teams, taking on work that aligned with AMD’s broader roadmap across design, verification, and software. This collaborative mindset steadily expanded the responsibilities entrusted to India and helped us mature from a supporting site into a centre with meaningful program accountability.
Another area we focused on was scaling with intention, ensuring our growth was driven by meaningful impact rather than numbers alone. We strengthened leadership, hired top talent, built strong university partnerships, and fostered a culture centred on innovation and learning. Today, AMD India is the largest global design centre after the US and a key contributor to the AMD product roadmap.
Q: Beyond the physical expansion, how do AMD's investments in India redefine the strategic importance and the scope of responsibilities for the India teams within AMD's global framework for the next decade?
JJ: AMD India's goal has always been to steadily move up the value chain and bring deeper strategic value to AMD's global development. Over the years, the teams here have grown into true global players deeply integrated with the company's priorities and contributing to some of AMD's technology initiatives.
As we look ahead, this trajectory will continue. With the scale of growth and investments we have made, AMD India will continue to evolve into an even more strategic contributor to the company, driven in large part by transformative technologies like AI. AMD India is positioned to play an important role in shaping this future. Our teams will continue to collaborate and deliver across every stage of product development.
Equally important is our commitment to our people. As the industry undergoes rapid transformation, building stronger, more skilled teams is essential. We are making significant investments in developing our engineers, enhancing technical expertise, and equipping talent with new technologies to support AMD's fast-paced growth.
Q: How has the nature of engineering work at AMD India evolved? Could you discuss the transition from component-level execution to now supporting architecture and major global products?
JJ: In today’s world of highly complex chips, no single design centre owns a product end-to-end. Collaboration across global talent and resources is important.
Within this global model, AMD India plays a critical and growing role in chip development. When we began, the work was focused on areas like software development, verification, and testing. Over time, as our teams grew in depth and capability, we expanded our role to include handling parts of IP development, SoC programs and contributing across the software stack, starting from drivers and tools to compilers and libraries.
This collaborative approach helps enable AMD to build products at scale. The journey has been one of continuous growth in AMD India’s capability and accountability within the global framework, and we expect this evolution to continue as we deepen expertise, expand into newer domains, and support AMD’s next generation of technologies.
Q: How is AMD integrating AI and ML within its own chip design and verification processes? Where are you seeing the most significant impact?
JJ: AI-assisted engineering is already playing a meaningful role in how we improve productivity across our design teams. We’ve developed several internal tools that help engineers manage the scale and complexity of modern chip development. For example, in verification, AI can sift through thousands of failures, highlight patterns, and guide engineers to the blocks that truly need attention. These tools also provide early warnings related to physical design, utilisation, or time constraints, allowing teams to address issues much sooner in the cycle. Across the board, these capabilities shorten project execution cycles and improve time-to-market.
Q: AMD's presence has undoubtedly influenced the local semiconductor ecosystem. How have you seen AMD's growth contribute to nurturing India's talent pool?
JJ: When AMD began its journey in India, the semiconductor ecosystem was still taking shape, and the kind of deep technical talent required for advanced processor and SoC design was not readily available in the region. Investments from companies like AMD have helped infuse India with advanced chip design skills. Over time, this approach strengthened our own teams and infused critical expertise into the broader ecosystem.
Today, the landscape is very different; we can hire senior technical levels, including principal engineers and fellows, which speaks of how much the talent pool has matured in India. As the semiconductor ecosystem continues to grow in India, we remain committed to nurturing talent and supporting its evolution.
Q: Given India's globally recognised strength in software and AI talent, how are the teams here pioneering the development and adoption of these AI-driven design methodologies for AMD globally?
JJ: Over the past two decades, India has built a strong foundation of software and AI talent, but what truly sets our teams apart is the ability to blend these skills with deep chip design expertise. It’s the combination of AI knowledge paired with solid design fundamentals that is most valuable in advancing AI-driven methodologies for AMD globally.
Our engineers in India are using AI tools to improve productivity and efficiency across the design flow. These tools help automate complex tasks, share insights, and streamline decision-making for our global teams. While AI talent is important, the real impact comes from how our teams apply it in the context of advanced silicon design.
Q: With a workforce of thousands, how does AMD foster a culture of continuous learning and create pathways for engineers in India to grow into senior technical leaders?
JJ: At AMD, continuous learning is a core part of our culture, and we invest our time in creating growth pathways for engineers at every stage of their careers. As the industry rapidly advances in areas like AI, HPC, edge computing, and secure hardware design, reskilling and upskilling have become essential for all our engineers.
We host internal technical conferences that encourage engineers to share ideas, showcase innovations through patents and paper submissions, and learn from one another. Alongside this, we offer extensive learning opportunities from formal courses to hands-on training that help teams stay current as technologies evolve.
We also support long-term career growth through forums such as the India Technical Leadership Team (ITLT), which focuses on mentorship and developing future technical leaders. This multi-layered approach to continuous learning, deep technical exposure, and strong mentorship helps our engineers build the skills required to take on increasingly senior technical roles within AMD.
Q: As chips become more complex, what are the most critical skills you're looking for in engineers today?
JJ: As chips become more complex, the skills we look for in engineers are also evolving. The most valuable engineers are T-shaped, bringing deep domain expertise, strong system-level thinking, disciplined problem-solving, and effective collaboration across hardware and software to drive successful silicon outcomes. Another skill that is gaining momentum is the ability to apply AI and machine learning to semiconductor design. Whether it’s using AI for automation, optimisation, or early detection of design issues, these skills are now central to modern chip development. We’re also seeing increased demand for engineers who can work on secure hardware design, as security at the silicon level becomes a fundamental requirement.
Q: Your outlook on India – How does AMD view India as a strategic growth market for its products?
JJ: India is a key growth market for AMD, supported by rapid digitisation, rising demand for high-performance computing, and a strong talent ecosystem. The country is experiencing a surge in data centre infrastructure, adoption of AI technologies, and increased PC penetration across consumer and enterprise segments. AMD’s broad portfolio of CPUs, GPUs, and adaptive SoCs uniquely positions us to meet the needs of our customers. In addition to being a high-potential market, India is also a strategic hub for innovation, with AMD’s R&D operations in India playing a critical role in global product development and AI enablement.
Q: Which segments - HPC, PCs, Gaming - do you see as the biggest opportunities for AMD in India over the next five years?
JJ: All three segments represent a significant opportunity in India; each is aligned with different growth drivers. In the PC space, demand for AI-enabled and gaming laptops is growing rapidly, fueled by a young and tech-savvy population. Gaming is experiencing strong momentum across both casual and enthusiast gaming populations.
On the enterprise side, cloud adoption and AI deployments are accelerating investments in HPC and data centre infrastructure. AMD is well-positioned to serve these markets with leadership products across EPYC CPUs, Instinct GPUs, Ryzen AI processors, and Radeon graphics solutions.
Q: What specific leadership philosophies do you adhere to within AMD India to ensure consistent innovation and a high bar for technical achievement?
JJ: At AMD India, our leadership philosophy is rooted in fostering a culture where innovation is a shared responsibility, not an option. Innovation isn’t about “can we,” it’s about “we must.”
We encourage open communication, transparency, and collaboration, values that empower teams to question the status quo and think beyond their day-to-day work. Our culture enables engineers in India to seamlessly connect with senior technical experts worldwide to solve complex problems together.
We also invest in nurturing technical leadership through internal innovation forums that help grow talent into global technical roles, from engineers to fellows and senior fellows.
The India Leadership Team and India Technical Leadership Teams play a pivotal role in strengthening our technical and innovation communities by enabling cross-team collaboration and actively engaging through technical reviews, mentoring, and championing innovation forums.
Q: As a leader in tech, what is the one thing that scares you the most, and what is the one thing that inspires you the most?
JJ: What inspires me the most is the sheer possibility of technology. Its ability to solve meaningful problems, improve lives, and accelerate human progress is extraordinary. When used with purpose, technology can transform industries, enable new experiences, and create impact at a scale that was unimaginable a few years ago. That potential continues to motivate me every day.
At the same time, when technologies like AI advance rapidly, it is important that we work to ensure they are developed and deployed with the right intent, boundaries, and frameworks. As engineers, we should help to guide the evolution of AI in a way that strengthens society and human potential rather than disrupts it.
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