DeepTech Hackathon Ignites India's Next Wave of Semiconductor & AI Innovation

Chennai Institute of Technology's ALL-GIRLS  team wins at DeepTech Hackathon, takes home Rs. 1,00,000

A Platform Built for the Next Generation of Innovators

India has earned global recognition for its deep semiconductor design talent. As the nation now accelerates toward chip manufacturing, the imperative is clear — India must expand its capabilities across the entire semiconductor value chain to build a truly self-reliant ecosystem.

The IESA Vision Summit 2026 concluded with the DeepTech Hackathon Grand Finale, spotlighting cutting-edge semiconductor talent and Edge AI innovation

The ‘DeepTech Hackathon’ was conceived as a high-impact platform to catalyse this transition — identifying, nurturing, and fast-tracking breakthrough innovations and cultivating a future-ready talent pipeline in India. Bringing together some of India’s brightest engineering minds, the hackathon challenged participants to develop cutting-edge solutions leveraging AI-enabled EDA workflows for “Edge AI based Defect Classification System for Semiconductor Images”, reinforcing India’s readiness for design-led manufacturing and deep-tech leadership.  

The competition drew exceptional engagement from the country's engineering community, attracting 911 teams across 359 colleges — culminating in 532 high-quality idea submissions that underwent a rigorous, multi-stage evaluation process. The Grand Finale, held at the IESA Vision Summit 2026 — the most influential gathering of India's electronics and semiconductor leadership — brought together 10 finalist teams who had successfully navigated rigorous qualification rounds, mentorship sessions, and technical evaluations conducted in collaboration with industry experts from GlobalFoundries and NXP Semiconductors.

Commenting on the Mega Finale, Mr. Ashok Chandak, President, IESA and SEMI India, said, “India’s semiconductor ecosystem is at a decisive inflection point. While the India Semiconductor Mission is unlocking unprecedented investments, the true multiplier lies in talent and deep-tech innovation. This Hackathon showcases the depth of India’s semiconductor capability and the power of young engineers to solve complex challenges.”

“The momentum in AI and semiconductors is inseparable. As we build next-generation chips, we must also build responsible, human-centric AI systems aligned with the Prime Minister’s vision of MANAV — ethical, inclusive, and globally competitive. Today’s winners are not just award recipients; they represent the new face of India’s design and technology leadership. We congratulate them and thank our partners who are nurturing this innovation ecosystem that will power India’s next wave of startups, IP creation, and global impact.” Chandak added.

“GF is committed to building differentiated solutions for the semiconductor industry and our customers. Our leading foundry presence in India enables us to contribute towards building a strong tech ecosystem with our industry partners and educational institutes. The hackathon at the IESA Vision summit is a perfect platform for young talent to nurture industry-ready skills while solving real world problems using semiconductor chip design, manufacturing and AI techniques. It is inspiring to see the critical thinking, curiosity and depth of technical knowledge demonstrated by the students. I look forward to welcoming this talent to the growing semiconductor ecosystem in India and GF in particular in the coming years,” said, Jitendra Chaddah (JC), Vice President and India Country Head, GlobalFoundries.

Hitesh Garg, Vice President and India Managing Director, NXP Semiconductors added, “The DeepTech Hackathon comes at a pivotal moment as India accelerates its semiconductor and AI ambitions. This initiative reflects the kind of industry–academia collaboration that is essential to building India’s next wave of deep‑tech and manufacturing innovation. What stands out in this challenge—bringing together defect detection, Edge AI, and real fab‑level problem‑solving—is how closely it mirrors the demands of modern intelligent manufacturing. At NXP, we are proud to support platforms that strengthen India’s semiconductor and AI capabilities, especially as the industry faces a growing need for system design engineers who can integrate hardware, software, and AI into scalable, real‑world solutions. The ingenuity and technical depth demonstrated by these young engineers reaffirm that India is not just participating in the global shift toward advanced AI‑driven systems, but is strongly positioned to lead it.”

The Winners

Each winning team demonstrated exceptional command of AI enabled semiconductor design principles, systems thinking, and solution viability. A distinguished panel of jury shortlisted the top three winners at the Mega Finale — with the top spot claimed by an all-girls team from Chennai Institute of Technology.

Winning team – Chennai Institute of Technology, honored with prize money of Rs. 1,00,000

1st Runner-Up- Ramco Institute of Technology, honored with prize money of Rs. 60,000

2nd Runner-Up- IIT Indore, honored with prize money of Rs. 40,000.