Twitter/X

Fairchild in the 1960s went to India to establish its first offshore…

2026-08-02 · 05:26 UTC ·@MesoAnglic ·0 min read

Brief

The post highlights two landmark missed semiconductor opportunities for India: Fairchild in the 1960s aimed to build an offshore plant with a 10 million-transistor/year target but was limited to 600,000 by the government and relocated to Hong Kong; and AMD’s proposed $3 billion 2005 fab collapsed after imported equipment was detained at customs and returned.

Why it matters

Fairchild in the 1960s went to India to establish its first offshore manufacturer, planned production of 10 million transistors per year, but the Indian government told them to produce only 600,000, and Fairchild left for Hong Kong.

Key details

  • AMD in 2005 planned a $3 billion semiconductor fab in India, but the project fell apart when its equipment was stuck at customs, was not cleared, and was returned.
Source evidence

In the 60s, Fairchild, that Fairchild, personally went to India because they wanted their first offshore manufacturer to be there.
They wanted to produce 10 million transistors yearly; the government explicitly told them to produce only 600k.
They decided to leave for Hong Kong.

Harrapa Civillisation Times (@harrapasabhyata)

Amazing that instead of East Asia, AMD wanted to Make India its Semiconductor Manufacturing Hub and was investing 3 Billion$ in a Fab in India back in 2005 but it all fell apart just because,

When their Equipment came it got stuck at customs and wasn’t cleared leading to return!

— https://nitter.net/harrapasabhyata/status/2083278660598202772#m