Spintronics AI partners CSIR-CEERI to advance indigenous GaN tech, set up fabrication unit - ET CIO

India's choice of GaN as its semiconductor sovereignty wedge is strategically precise: it bypasses cutting-edge logic nodes and anchors three high-demand corridors—power electronics, 5G RF, and EV charging. CSIR-CEERI's involvement signals state-level commitment, unlocking tax incentives, land allocation, and talent pipelines no private player could replicate alone. On the technical stack, a GaN fab depends on MOCVD epitaxy (Aixtron/Veeco), sapphire substrates, and high-frequency packaging. India imports over 90% of its GaN power devices today. A 6-inch line clearing 70% yield severs the supply-chain tether to Qorvo, Infineon, and Sanan. Yet the 'indigenous' label is aspirational—core MOCVD tools remain subject to US EAR and Dutch export controls. The toolchain is still Western. Competitively, Navitas, EPC, and STMicro must recalibrate India pricing. With 1.4 billion consumers and accelerating EV adoption, the GaN power-device TAM could reach $2–3 billion by 2030. A 15–25% domestic cost advantage hits the mid-to-low segment first. The 12–24-month long tail: India will almost certainly replicate this playbook for SiC. The deeper signal—GaN is India's 'foundry-lite' on-ramp, building epitaxy and packaging talent before attempting 28nm logic. This is not a fab story. It is a nation using third-generation semiconductors to leverage its entire electronics industrial ladder.