Bharat Forge enters chip race, working with ASML on key machine parts

Bharat Forge is working with ASML, Lam Research and Applied Materials to supply specialised metal components for semiconductor manufacturing equipment. The move links its expansion plans to AI-led chip demand and India's broader semiconductor push.

In Short

• Bharat Forge eyes role in global chip supply chain
• Company plans to supply parts to ASML and others
• India expands focus from chips to chip-making ecosystem

Artificial intelligence may be grabbing headlines for chatbots and robots, but behind the scenes, another industry is quietly becoming one of the biggest winners of the AI boom, semiconductors. Every AI system runs on chips and every chip needs highly specialised machines to be manufactured. Now, an Indian company wants to become part of that global supply chain. Pune-based engineering and manufacturing company Bharat Forge says it sees a major opportunity emerging from the global semiconductor race and rising AI demand.

Bharat Forge wants to build for the companies behind the chip boom

But the company is not planning to manufacture semiconductors. Instead, it wants to help build the equipment used to make them.

Bharat Forge Chairman and Managing Director Baba Kalyani in an interview with CNBC-TV18 said the company is working with some of the world’s largest semiconductor equipment makers, including ASML, Lam Research and Applied Materials. The plan is to supply specialised metal components that go into semiconductor manufacturing equipment.

These are not consumer-facing products, but they are critical because chip factories cannot operate without highly precise machines and components. According to Kalyani, progress on these partnerships is expected over the next year as supplier qualification processes move forward.

AI demand is creating another opportunity

Bharat Forge is also investing heavily to prepare for AI-driven industrial demand. Kalyani revealed that the company is investing more than Rs 1,000 crore in a new facility in Baramati, Maharashtra. The plant will manufacture high-technology forgings and machine parts used in power backup systems for data centres. Operations at the facility are expected to begin in the fourth quarter of this year.

Why this matters beyond Bharat Forge

This development comes at a time when India is aggressively trying to build a domestic semiconductor ecosystem. In 2021, the government launched the India Semiconductor Mission (ISM) to attract semiconductor investments and strengthen chip infrastructure in the country. Under the mission, it has provided Rs 76,000 crore incentive framework, offering fiscal support of up to 50 per cent for silicon fabs, compound semiconductor facilities, assembly and testing units, and chip design.

In 2026, the government launched India Semiconductor Mission 2.0. The new phase expands the ambition. Instead of focusing only on making chips, India now wants companies to manufacture semiconductor equipment and materials locally, design Indian semiconductor intellectual property, and strengthen domestic and global supply chains.

So far, India has approved 12 semiconductor projects under ISM, covering fabrication plants, packaging, testing and advanced semiconductor facilities.

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