Kaynes-Emerson partnership accelerates AI chip testing in India

A new collaboration between Kaynes Semicon, the semiconductor arm of Kaynes Technology, and Emerson marks a bold step in India's quest to build a robust domestic chip ecosystem. By adopting Emerson's NI Semiconductor Test System (STS) as the standard testing platform across Kaynes' growing network of facilities, the two companies are setting the stage for faster, more scalable testing of a wide range of devices—from analog and RF chips to MEMS sensors and power components. In practical terms, the deal aims to streamline workflows, improve throughput, and shorten the time it takes to bring silicon from fabrication to end customers.

What NI STS brings to the table

The NI STS platform is a compact, modular PXI-based test solution known for its reconfigurable architecture. That modularity matters in real-world labs where the mix of devices—analog, mixed-signal, RF, power, MEMS—keeps changing. Kaynes will deploy STS as the standard across its facilities, enabling technicians to swap in and out test programs and instruments without retooling the entire line. Here’s how that translates on the floor:

• Multi-site execution: The same test plan can run across numerous Kaynes locations, helping to ensure consistency as the company scales globally.
• Instrument reuse: By reusing instruments across tests, labs can cut equipment redundancy and reduce capital expenditure over time.
• Software-driven flexibility: Tools like LabVIEW and TestStand let engineers adapt test coverage quickly as new device generations arrive.
• Faster throughput: Emerson claims the NI STS can deliver up to 10x faster test speeds in certain configurations, a metric that could meaningfully shorten the cycle from wafer to working chips.

Raghu Panicker, CEO of Kaynes Semicon, framed the move as a strategic enabler for rapid, reliable testing as the company expands, saying the platform’s modularity and speed will help Kaynes deliver consistent results to customers around the world.

Strategic fit for Kaynes in the OSAT market

Kaynes is plotting a broader ascent into the Outsourced Semiconductor Assembly and Test (OSAT) space—a critical niche that handles the final steps of packaging and testing silicon wafers before they reach end users. The company has already announced substantial investments to position itself as a major OSAT player in India, including:

• A ₹3,300 crore OSAT facility in Sanand, Gujarat, expected to begin operations by the end of 2025 with an estimated capacity of 6.3 million chips per day.
• A memorandum of understanding with the Telangana government to build another Rs 2,800 crore OSAT and compound semiconductor facility in Hyderabad, which would create more than 2,000 jobs.

Equipping these facilities with a standardized, high-performance testing platform from day one helps Kaynes deliver scalable, globally competitive services and positions the company well within the nation’s OSAT ecosystem. It also dovetails with Kaynes' ambition to offer Test-as-a-Service (TaaS), turning testing into a repeatable, scalable offering rather than a bespoke, one-off capability.

For Emerson, linking arms with a fast-growing Indian OSAT player reinforces its footprint in a country delivering a rising wave of semiconductor activity. Shitendra Bhattacharya, Emerson India’s Country Head for Test & Measurement, emphasized the growing demand for scalable, efficient testing in the region.

Policy backdrop and AI implications

India’s government has been actively steering the domestic semiconductor story through the India Semiconductor Mission (ISM), with incentives designed to cultivate a self-reliant, globally competitive supply chain. The Nation’s push is not just about chips, but about the entire ecosystem—from fabrication and packaging to advanced testing. In that context, the Kaynes-Emerson partnership is more than a technology upgrade: it’s a signal that India intends to move from being a consumer to a co-creator of next-generation AI processors.

That shift matters for AI deployment worldwide. As demand for AI accelerators and edge processors grows—from data centers to autonomous systems—the need for robust testing becomes a bottleneck if not addressed at scale. Industry players are racing to validate designs across multi-site labs with repeatable results in ever-shorter timeframes. The NI STS platform, with its emphasis on modularity and software-driven workflows, is well aligned with this need. The collaboration could shorten development cycles for AI chips, enabling faster iteration and higher confidence in performance under heavy workloads.

What to watch next

• Scale and cadence: How quickly Kaynes can deploy the NI STS across its Sanand, Hyderabad, and other facilities and how it translates into throughput gains for different device families.
• TaaS growth: Whether the standardization facilitates more predictable, scalable TaaS offerings, potentially attracting new customers who want turnkey testing options.
• Supply chain resilience: As India expands its OSAT capacity, testing standardization can help reduce lead times and improve reliability across the board, contributing to a more resilient electronics supply chain.

Bottom line

The Kaynes Semicon–Emerson agreement is more than a product upgrade; it’s a blueprint for how a growing OSAT network can be built with repeatable processes and high-throughput testing. In combination with India’s policy push toward domestic semiconductor capability, the partnership is a practical illustration of how strategic technology adoption translates national ambitions into tangible industrial capability. If the plan holds, Kaynes could emerge as a prominent global OSAT provider and, by extension, help advance the broader AI ecosystem that depends on reliable, scalable chip testing.

For readers curious about the broader context, this development sits at the intersection of industrial policy, semiconductor engineering, and AI hardware strategy, signaling that India intends to compete not just on costs, but on the reliability and speed of its testing pipelines.

Sources

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