National security is no longer only about borders and armies, aircraft carriers and nuclear warheads. Instead, think cyber. Semiconductors. Supercomputers. Satellites.
Today, technology itself has become the new chessboard. Innovation, the new security paradigm. And the tech industry, the new global flashpoint.
Anshuman Tripathi believes India is uniquely placed to harness this new driver to its advantage. For greater national security – and global competitiveness.
A Sloan Fellow from Stanford School of Business, he specialises in creating entrepreneurial ecosystems in semiconductors, cyber-physical systems, aerospace and defence, worldwide. Multiple milestones define his tech journey. His graduate research on hardware trojans was acknowledged by the US Department of Defense. He was previously at Starburst Accelerator, the world’s largest aerospace and defense startup accelerator. He holds a US patent on semiconductor chips.
Now, the tech veteran is a member of India’s National Security Advisory Board, championing the chip revolution in India.
Why chips? Because they increasingly power defense systems and platforms. Stealth aircraft, guided missiles, communication networks. And because they drive our day-to-day lives. Computers and electronics. ATMs and trains. Microwaves and medical devices. No wonder semiconductors are called the new oil of the 21st century. Tripathi goes a step further: “If another country controls your chip production, then your country is susceptible.”
Is India up to the task to anchor itself in the emerging global tech order? To participate in shifting tech flows, as the West looks to de-risk from China? Tripathi says yes. A Rs. 76,000 crore mission to make India a hub of semiconductor design, manufacturing, and development. A new semicon fab rising out of the dust of Dholera, Gujarat – with potentially more in the pipeline. Promises of a homegrown chip by 2026. A more mature ‘Make in India’ framework. And a large talent pool. As Tripathi remarks, “At any major semiconductor manufacturing fab, the chances are you will see an Indian engineer.”
After all, few nations can claim to have built chips that both defend the country – and power space missions.
But big questions remain. How India’s newfound zeal – but a sole, outdated semiconductor fab, a weak ecosystem, low participation in high-tech trade, and teething IP – stand up against brighter alternatives like Vietnam. Or China’s lead in critical and emerging technologies. America’s robust private sector-led innovation.
At SYNAPSE, Anshuman Tripathi will unpack why semiconductors are at the heart of cutting-edge tech and next-gen battlegrounds. India’s readiness to make its mark, as geopolitics simmer and flare. And his game plan to create both chips and champions in the country to secure itself from tech threats and tech-trade insignificance.
