New Delhi, Jul 29 (IANS): US-based semiconductor company Applied Materials on Saturday announced its engagement with more than 40 suppliers and academic institutions as part of the company’s planned collaborative engineering centre in Bengaluru.

In its first five years of operation, the centre is expected to create at least 500 new advanced engineering jobs, along with potentially another 2,500 jobs in the manufacturing ecosystem.

Participating at ‘SemiconIndia 2023’, the company said the planned centre aims to harness the collective expertise of the industry stakeholders and spearhead breakthrough ideas related to India’s domestic semiconductor supply chain and talent development.

“This is a pivotal moment for India to position itself as a key player in the global semiconductor landscape,” said Prabu Raja, President of the Semiconductor Products Group at Applied Materials.

Applied’s collaborative engineering centre “will promote synergy among industry stakeholders and cultivate a culture of technical research, skill development, and knowledge sharing,” he added.

Applied Materials last month announced plans to build a collaborative engineering centre in India with a gross investment of $400 million over four years.

The announcement came after Gary E. Dickerson, President and CEO of Applied Materials, met Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the US.

Applied said it aims to reduce the time to commercialisation and develop a sustainable semiconductor ecosystem in India.

Applied is also partnering with top-tier universities and institutions both for innovation and to help develop a capable workforce to support the domestic semiconductor ecosystem.

"We have embarked on a transformative journey to power India's semiconductor mission,” said Srinivas Satya, Country President of Applied Materials India.