Semicon Landscape
Intelligent industry

Capgemini’s Edge: Empowering the Semiconductor Industry for the Next Era

Part 3 of 3

The semiconductor industry: Powering the next wave of innovation

The semiconductor industry is central to today’s connected, intelligent, and increasingly software-defined world. From generative AI and autonomous mobility to industrial automation, telecommunications, healthcare, and high-performance computing, innovation depends on chips that are more powerful, specialized, secure, and energy efficient.

The first edition of this series examined India’s role in the global semiconductor landscape, while the second edition explored its rise as a capability center hub. This final edition focuses on Capgemini’s semiconductor expertise and how we help clients worldwide turn ideas into production-ready solutions.

A fast-growing industry at an inflection point

Semiconductor demand is accelerating. Chipmakers forecast 15% growth, while downstream industries expect demand to rise by 29% over the next two years. AI and generative AI are driving the need for specialized silicon, custom chips, and faster innovation cycles.

However, more than half of downstream organizations question whether the industry can keep pace with growing requirements for customization, security, energy efficiency, and supply chain resilience.

Innovation is advancing across the semiconductor lifecycle:

  • Design: 3D integrated circuits, chiplets, multi-die integration, and generative AI are accelerating design cycles while improving performance and energy efficiency.
  • Manufacturing: Extreme ultraviolet lithography, smaller process nodes, AI, and machine learning are increasing computing power and optimizing production.
  • Packaging: Advanced techniques such as 3D packaging and chiplets are adding functionality and performance without significantly increasing chip size.

Security, sustainability, and resilience are equally important. Organizations are investing in secure chip design, hardware-based encryption, trusted supply networks, regional manufacturing, and more environmentally responsible fabrication and assembly.

Capgemini brings together silicon engineering, software, data, AI, cybersecurity, cloud, intelligent operations, and industry expertise to help clients navigate this complexity and deliver impact.

Combining global scale with deep semiconductor expertise

Capgemini supports semiconductor companies and related industries across the chip and product lifecycle, from architecture and specification to design, verification, validation, embedded software, connected services, and digital transformation.

Our semiconductor credentials include:

  • More than 21 years of semiconductor engineering and research and development experience
  • Relationships with nine of the world’s top 10 semiconductor companies
  • More than 6,000 engineers across 13 countries
  • End-to-end capabilities, from specification and silicon design to volume production
  • Recognition as an Arm Approved Design Partner
  • Expertise across silicon, embedded systems, cloud, data, AI, cybersecurity, and intelligent operations

Capgemini is also recognized as a Market Leader in the HFS Horizons report for high-tech services and as a Leader in the Zinnov Zones assessment for engineering research and development and digital engineering services.

These capabilities position Capgemini as more than an engineering services provider. We align silicon strategy with software, products, manufacturing, services, and business transformation, helping organizations move from ideas to production-ready solutions with greater speed and confidence.

Capgemini Capabilities: From specification to silicon and beyond

Capgemini’s semiconductor portfolio covers the entire value chain, from specification to silicon chip design and process migration to post-silicon validation, embedded platform engineering, semiconductor software, customer engineering, secure equipment connectivity, and digital continuity.

As semiconductor markets evolve, companies must extend successful chip platforms, add new features, address new market segments, and meet customer requirements without starting from scratch.

Capgemini’s Derivative Factory helps semiconductor companies develop new variants from existing chip platforms. Integrated engineering services include chip design and verification, embedded software, board and platform support, and migration of IP or system-on-chip designs across various nodes. This helps clients expand product portfolios, optimize engineering resources, and respond quickly to market opportunities.

Software is now central to semiconductor product development, differentiation, updates, and user experience. Companies must consider the full software-enabled platform, not just the chip.

Capgemini helps clients maximize silicon value through system engineering, derivative development, proofs of concept, professional development services, managed testing, product sustenance, connectivity, platform software, and validation. These capabilities accelerate product development and help companies deliver secure, intelligent, evolving experiences throughout the product lifecycle.

Evolving market requirements, component obsolescence, foundry strategies, supply constraints, and performance needs often require moving designs to new processes or manufacturing environments.

Capgemini offers engineering services to migrate semiconductor IP and system-on-chip designs to new foundries or processes, covering mature, mainstream, and advanced nodes. By integrating design, verification, validation, and platform expertise, Capgemini helps clients address obsolescence, access new manufacturing options, extend product life, and protect silicon investments.

Semiconductor equipment manufacturers need secure, scalable connections to complex equipment in customer fabrication plants. Remote connectivity can enhance serviceability and utilization, but it must meet strict security, reliability, control, and traceability standards.

Tracces delivers secure, scalable, and reliable connectivity between equipment manufacturers and customer fabrication plants. It enables monitored data exchange and remote equipment access, supporting multiple manufacturers and fabs through multi-tenancy. This improves operational efficiency, reduces travel, increases equipment utilization, and enables new value-added services.

Supported by Capgemini’s professional services and adoption materials, Tracces enables smooth implementation, rollout, and ongoing platform operations.

The value of silicon is realized through the products, platforms, and experiences it enables. Capgemini offers embedded software, board and system engineering, FPGA engineering, design verification testing, and laboratory validation to help clients turn silicon into solutions.

The portfolio includes firmware, drivers, hardware abstraction layers, bootloaders, secure boot, middleware, operating system porting, board bring-up, power and performance optimization, and system-level validation. This comprehensive coverage enables clients to engineer and validate complete embedded platforms, integrating silicon, software, and hardware.

Capgemini’s post-silicon validation services help assess the functionality, performance, power efficiency, security, stability, connectivity, and thermal behavior of semiconductor designs after fabrication.

Capabilities include test strategy and planning, testbed and fixture design, test-case development, bench and automated testing, hardware bring-up, device-driver validation, system testing, issue reproduction, triaging, and reporting. These services help organizations identify issues early and build confidence in production readiness.

The rise of custom silicon

As AI workloads place greater demands on energy and digital infrastructure, organizations are turning to silicon optimized for specific applications. Across automotive, telecommunications, aerospace and defense, industrial equipment, consumer electronics, healthcare, and high-performance computing, performance per watt and per dollar is becoming a key differentiator.

According to Capgemini research, 56% of downstream organizations already use custom chips, while another 11% are considering them. Adoption is particularly high in industrial equipment and telecommunications, while hyperscalers are investing in in-house silicon for AI inference and other compute-intensive workloads.

Capgemini helps organizations turn custom silicon ambitions into production-ready solutions. By integrating architecture, chip and IP design, verification, validation, process migration, embedded software, platform engineering, and industry expertise, we help clients improve performance and efficiency while accelerating differentiation.

From chip to industry

Unlocking the potential of custom silicon

Custom silicon in action at Capgemini:

Capgemini’s semiconductor engineering capabilities help organizations address complex design requirements across multiple industries. Here are a few notable case studies

Capgemini supported the design and verification of an airbag-system application-specific integrated circuit for automotive use. The chip was designed to detect imminent road collisions and deploy one or more airbags.

Capgemini provided a nearshore team responsible for project planning, requirements tracking and mapping, IP-level verification of digital blocks, complete chip-level verification, status tracking, and reporting.

For an international automotive organization, Capgemini helped develop an automotive-qualified, high-performance, single-chip dedicated short-range communications modem system-on-chip for vehicle-to-everything applications.

The solution supports road safety and traffic efficiency while reducing pollution and energy consumption. An offshore program management team worked with a global engineering team to deliver the project.

Capgemini supported the design of a complete system-on-chip for an infrared camera, from architecture definition through tape-out.

Designed for thermal-camera applications in industrial, agricultural, healthcare, defense, and other markets, the chip met strict performance, power, and reliability requirements. This engagement demonstrated Capgemini’s ability to manage complex system-on-chip design and implementation challenges.

A global aircraft manufacturer needed to address the obsolescence of an existing integrated circuit that had reached end-of-life status.

Capgemini managed the end-to-end redesign and validation of the chip, applying aerospace development methodologies and processes. This program demonstrates how Capgemini helps organizations address component obsolescence while maintaining engineering rigor in safety-critical environments.

Capgemini helped a technology organization design a microprocessor system-on-chip for high-performance computing and AI inference.

Capgemini quickly established a specialized nearshore engineering team for the program, demonstrating the ability to mobilize the skills and delivery capacity needed for complex custom-silicon initiatives.

Connecting engineering, manufacturing, and operations

Semiconductor transformation extends beyond chip development. Companies must also modernize the digital core connecting engineering, manufacturing, supply chain, product lifecycle management, and aftersales operations.

Capgemini helps semiconductor and high-tech manufacturers integrate these domains into unified digital workflows. Our capabilities include enterprise resource planning, manufacturing execution systems, product lifecycle management, warehouse and inventory management, business intelligence, analytics, and supply-chain management.

This digital continuity addresses fragmented application landscapes, disconnected data, legacy technologies, limited documentation, and gaps in AI readiness. It also supports connected decision-making across the semiconductor enterprise.

Capgemini’s intelligent supply-chain capabilities include touchless planning, cognitive procurement, scenario modeling, and AI-supported demand planning. These capabilities help organizations anticipate disruption, strengthen operational resilience, and make informed supply and sourcing decisions.

The Capgemini Advantage

Capgemini integrates the capabilities below, which multiple entities in the semiconductor ecosystem often address separately. These “integrated” capabilities enable Capgemini to help clients address current semiconductor requirements and adapt to the evolving relationship between chips, software, products, services, and intelligent operations.

  • End-to-end semiconductor engineering: From architecture, RTL, verification, and physical design through post-silicon validation, embedded software, boards, and systems
  • Chip-to-application coverage: Connecting silicon engineering with firmware, platform software, middleware, validation, and product engineering
  • Lifecycle expertise: Supporting new chip development, derivatives, process migration, product sustenance, and component-obsolescence management
  • Software and connectivity depth: Spanning platform software, embedded operating systems, device drivers, board-support packages, 5G, LTE, NB-IoT, and connected-device validation
  • Pre-silicon and post-silicon validation: Covering functionality, stability, performance, power, thermal behavior, security, and connectivity
  • Industry-specific custom silicon experience: Supporting automotive, aerospace, industrial, consumer, healthcare, and high-performance computing applications
  • Secure equipment connectivity: Enabling equipment manufacturers to access and support installed systems while building new service-led business models
  • Engineering-to-enterprise transformation: Connecting chip and product engineering with manufacturing, PLM, supply chain, analytics, cloud, AI, and digital continuity

Ready to shape the future?

The next era of the semiconductor industry will feature greater specialization, deeper software integration, more resilient supply networks, and an increased need to balance computing performance with security and sustainability.

Success will require more than individual engineering capabilities. It will depend on aligning silicon strategy with product innovation, manufacturing, software, data, and business transformation.

Capgemini unites these capabilities to help semiconductor companies, equipment manufacturers, and downstream organizations accelerate innovation, navigate complexity, and turn emerging technologies into measurable impact.

Explore Capgemini’s semiconductor solutions:

Semiconductor hero banner

Semiconductors

Silicon Engineering

Electronics and silicon engineering

Expert Perspectives of Semiconductor industry :

Technology

How Gen AI will redefine the chip design process

Ravi Gupta
Jun 13, 2024
Technology

How Gen AI will revolutionize the semiconductor industry

Sanjiv Agarwal
May 30, 2024
Digital core

Digital continuity for the semiconductor industry

Capgemini
May 21, 2024
Technology

A quiet revolution is on for Semiconductors  

Ravi Gupta
May 3, 2024
Technology

The chiplet revolution

Loïc Hamon
Jan 4, 2024

Research and insights

Point of view

The rise of derivative chips – driving the new out of now
Point of view

The software revolution at the heart of the chip industry
Capgemini Research Institute

The semiconductor industry in the AI era

capgemini-research-institute capgemini-research-institute