India and the US Are Teaming Up on Chips and AI — and Want Businesses to Lead the Way

India and the United States have held a high-level roundtable to push forward their cooperation in some of the most important technology areas of our time: semiconductors (the tiny chips that power everything from phones to fighter jets), artificial intelligence (AI), quantum computing (an advanced form of computing that uses the laws of physics to solve problems far faster than ordinary computers), and critical minerals (rare raw materials needed to make batteries, chips, and defence equipment). The meeting brought together senior officials from both countries and leaders from major Indian and American companies.

The key people at the roundtable included India's Ambassador to the United States Vinay Mohan Kwatra, S. Krishnan, the top bureaucrat at India's Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) — the government department that oversees the country's tech policy — and Bill Guidera, the US Deputy Under Secretary of Commerce. Companies working in AI, chip manufacturing, and critical minerals also sent senior representatives.

The big message from the meeting was a shift in responsibility. Mukesh Aghi, President and CEO of the US-India Strategic Partnership Forum (USISPF) — a non-profit organisation that promotes business ties between the two countries — summed it up clearly: governments can create the rules and the environment, "but it is industry that will ultimately drive execution, innovation, and investment." In other words, agreements on paper must now become factories, research labs, and real products.

To understand how India and the US got here, it helps to know about two key frameworks. The first is the TRUST Initiative — short for Transforming the Relationship Utilizing Strategic Technology — a programme launched by both countries to cooperate on cutting-edge fields including AI, semiconductors, quantum computing, biotechnology, defence, energy, and space. The second is the PAX Silica Declaration, a US State Department-led initiative focused on AI and semiconductor supply chain security, which aims to build a trusted global network of countries that can work together without relying on potentially risky suppliers. India joining PAX Silica was a significant step, placing it in a select group of nations working to make tech supply chains more reliable and secure.

An earlier milestone set the stage for all of this. In March 2023, India and the US signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) — a formal agreement that outlines areas of cooperation without being a legally binding treaty — on Semiconductor Supply Chain and Innovation Partnership. This MoU linked India's Semiconductor Mission (the Indian government's plan to build a domestic chip industry) with the US CHIPS and Science Act (a landmark American law that pumps billions of dollars into domestic semiconductor manufacturing and research). Together, these created a dedicated channel for sharing knowledge, training workers, and connecting suppliers across both countries.

Another big moment came on 13 February 2025, when US President Donald Trump welcomed Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi for a working visit in Washington, D.C. The two leaders set an ambitious goal: to grow trade between India and the United States to $500 billion by 2030, up from current levels, with technology cooperation at the heart of that vision.

Some on-the-ground projects are already taking shape. One example is the Shakti Semiconductor Fab, a facility developing compound semiconductors — a more specialised type of chip used in electric vehicles and aerospace applications — in India. American companies like General Atomics (a defence and advanced technology firm) and Synopsys (a software company used to design chips) are partnering with Indian firms like 3rdiTech to validate chip designs and train engineers, helping India build a skilled semiconductor workforce.

The AI Opportunity Statement, signed under the PAX Silica framework, lays out a roadmap for what comes next. Participating countries agreed to work together on trusted semiconductor ecosystems, reliable energy infrastructure to power data centres, critical minerals supply chains, and building skilled workforces. They also pledged to encourage cross-border venture capital (private investment funds that back new businesses) flows, joint research and development, and partnerships to expand AI computing capacity and next-generation data centres.

K. Nagaraj Naidu, Additional Secretary (Americas) in India's Ministry of External Affairs — the official who manages India's diplomatic relationship with the Americas — captured the mood of the moment: "We are now moving from principles to projects. The private sector will play an indispensable role in transforming these frameworks into real-world outcomes." For India, this partnership represents a chance to become a trusted global player in the technologies that will define the next several decades.