Mahindra University to set up India’s second student-led HackerFab for semiconductor skilling

Hyderabad/New Delhi, Aug 13 (INB) Mahindra University has announced plans to set up India’s second student-led HackerFab and the country’s first fully university-sponsored, student-led open-source semiconductor fabrication facility, aimed at providing hands-on training in chip manufacturing technologies, an official statement said on Thursday. According to the statement, the initiative follows the student-built HackerFab established at IIT Bombay and is intended to strengthen the semiconductor talent pipeline in line with India’s ambitions for domestic chip manufacturing and technological self-reliance. The HackerFab will be led by students enrolled in Mahindra University’s B.Tech. programme in VLSI Design & Technology. Students will work on developing low-cost semiconductor fabrication equipment, including a maskless photolithography system, RF sputtering chamber, spin coater and tube furnace, the university said. The initiative will provide students practical exposure to semiconductor fabrication and complement the university’s plans to establish a cleanroom facility for teaching and research. “HackerFab gives students a license to do exactly that. To fail loudly, fix it, try again, no permission needed. That’s how you build a generation unafraid to build,” Mahindra Group Chairman and Mahindra University Chancellor Anand Mahindra said. University Vice Chancellor Yajulu Medury said India’s semiconductor ambitions would require engineers with practical knowledge of both chip design and fabrication. “HackerFab takes learning into the lab, where students will build equipment, test ideas and understand the fabrication process first-hand,” Medury said, adding that the initiative, along with VLSI programmes and the planned cleanroom, would strengthen the university’s focus on industry-ready semiconductor talent. HackerFab was launched at Carnegie Mellon University’s Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering in 2023 as an open-source initiative aimed at making semiconductor microfabrication more accessible through low-cost, student-built equipment. Students at IIT Bombay started India’s first student-built HackerFab in August 2025. According to Mahindra University, the IIT Bombay team has developed prototypes of equipment for maskless lithography, spin coating, sputtering and furnace systems. Mahindra University said the new initiative builds on its investments in semiconductor education. It launched an M.Tech. programme in VLSI & Embedded Systems in 2023 and a B.Tech. in VLSI Design & Technology in 2024. Students have access to electronic design automation tools from Synopsys and Cadence, along with hardware support from AMD and Silicon Labs, it said. The university said the HackerFab would bring semiconductor design, fabrication and research closer together while providing students with practical experience in a strategically important technology sector.