New Delhi [India], February 20 (ANI): The PAX SILICA initiative is expected to bring technology collaboration closer between the United States and India. Sanjay Mehrotra, President and CEO of Micron Technology, credited the regulatory environment for facilitating the project.

'Modi's government has provided tremendous support and a policy that encourages investment here in India,' he said. He described the Sanand facility in Gujarat as 'the pioneering project of semiconductor manufacturing here in India' and expressed pride in the partnership with both the central government and the government of Gujarat.

While speaking at the signing of the PAX SILICA declaration on the sidelines of the India AI Impact Summit in New Delhi on Friday, Mehrotra reiterated Micron Technology's investment of USD 2.75 billion in Gujarat to establish a semiconductor assembly and test facility. The project represents a 'pioneering initiative' in India's semiconductor manufacturing sector.

'Micron is making an investment of USD 2.75 billion here in Gujarat. We'll talk more about it in the fireside chat a little bit later. Those investments now are going to be bringing a grand opening coming up soon, where packaging and assembly will be done of advanced memory wafers produced worldwide. So this is a pioneering project here in India,' Mehrotra said.

Painting the visual size of the facility, Mehrotra stated, 'The size of this facility that has been built is 500,000 square feet. So imagine that the clean room is the size of 10 cricket fields. The amount of steel that has been used in that is about three and a half times of the Eiffel Tower. The amount of concrete that is used in that is the size of 100 Olympic-sized swimming pools. This is the pioneering project of semiconductor manufacturing here in India.'

Mehrotra highlighted the importance of memory and storage in the current technological landscape, noting that these components are essential for artificial intelligence. 'Memory and storage are critical to driving AI,' Mehrotra said. He explained that as contextual processing expands and real-time performance demands on AI systems increase, the requirement for memory continues to grow. He also noted that 'Micron is the only company in the Western Hemisphere that develops and manufactures memory and storage.'

The project is part of Micron's broader strategy as a manufacturing powerhouse with 60,000 patents worldwide. 'We now have 300 inventors with the number of patents approaching nearly 2000 that have been contributed by the innovative, phenomenal team here in India. Very proud also of Micron's investment in bringing advanced packaging, assembly and test technologies here to Sanand, Gujarat,' the CEO said.

The company has maintained a presence in India since 2019, operating research and development centers in Bangalore and Hyderabad. Micron currently employs 24,000 people in the country. The India-based teams contribute to the company's global innovation, with some of the most advanced DRAM products being designed in India in collaboration with teams in the United States. (ANI)