"MERGERS AND ACQUISITIONS Will Always Happen NO MATTER WHAT"

Why are we witnessing so many acquisitions in the semiconductor space? As Renesas forges ahead, leveraging cutting-edge technologies through strategic acquisitions, one wonders if Indian firms can look forward to this trend as well. We got lucky when EFY's Yashasvini Razdan got to speak to Sailesh Chittipedi, Renesas, who has been in leading positions through many mergers and acquisitions. Here are the excerpts...

- Yashasvini Razdan

There's been a boom in AI, ML, and IoT in recent years, and now, with the introduction of ChatGPT, how do you think this boom will affect the semiconductor space?

We are still in the early stages, and over the next several years, we will start to see the benefits of this boom in the semiconductor industry. The migration of predictive AI and training models from the cloud to the edge will also happen for generative AI, including ChatGPT.

Initially, these technologies will mainly benefit cloud-based companies, but as we simplify the data requirements for smaller workloads using 'pruning' we can move closer to edge and endpoint. Once that happens, we will witness an acceleration of Al implementation in the endpoint or edge.

The semiconductor space has experienced numerous mergers and acquisitions. How do you see these mergers and acquisitions benefiting the industry amid the global market uncertainty?

Mergers and acquisitions will always happen no matter what, for reasons such as scaling, filling technology gaps, or addressing financial concerns. In the semiconductor industry, mergers and acquisitions have been driven by the need for scale and strategic goals in one's portfolio.

While the industry is currently experiencing a cyclical downturn, the long-term outlook remains bright due to transformative trends like IoT, AI, electrification, and Industry 4.0. These trends will continue to shape the industry and drive mergers and acquisitions.

How does a company identify a potential target for acquisition?

Financially, we evaluate the industry across four end-market pillars infrastructure, IoT, industrial, and automotive. We assess which segments within these align with our competencies and identify any gaps in our capabilities.