India’s semiconductor push; AI adoption on the rise

Blackstone-backed office developer Bagmane Prime Office REIT has filed for a $445.6 million initial public offering, Reuters reported, citing its draft prospectus.

Akin to how mutual funds hold stocks, REITs allow investors to invest in real estate. This will be the fifth office REIT (real estate investment trust) in the Indian market after Embassy Office Parks REIT, Mindspace Business Parks REIT, Knowledge Realty Trust, and Brookfield India Real Estate Trust. 

Speaking of IPOs, 2025 will be remembered as the year startup investors saw multi-bagger returns. YourStory did a detailed analysis of the most-talked-about listings of the year that fetched handsome gains for investors.

Meanwhile, after a strong week-long rally that sent gold, silver and other precious metals prices to all-time highs, prices fell sharply earlier this week after exchange operator CME Group made a key change to its metals contracts. Despite the setback, 2025 will likely be remembered as the year when precious metals shone bright.

In the world of currencies, the US dollar continues to dominate. It remains the backbone of the global reserve system, with central banks holding approximately $6.6 trillion in dollar-denominated reserves. This is more than half of the total reported global reserves.

As the year draws to a close, Denmark marked the end of an era with the country’s 400-year-old state-run postal service, PostNord, delivering its last ever letter this week. This makes Denmark the first country in the world to decide that physical mail is no longer essential or economically viable.

The wheel of time chugs along. 

In today’s newsletter, we will talk about 

• India’s semiconductor push
• AI adoption on the rise

Here’s your trivia for today: What desert is home to the Ahaggar and Tibesti mountains?

Outlook 2026

India’s semiconductor push

In its endeavour to boost semiconductor manufacturing, India has passed the first hurdle with respect to capacity. The next phase—ensuring chip facilities have local supply chains and customers—will decide whether the chip ambition becomes a costly experiment or puts the country on the global map.

The next two years will be inflection points for India’s semiconductor manufacturing journey from front-end chip production to back-end chip packaging.

What to expect in 2026:

• Chip packaging and assembly facilities are likely to go into commercial production in 2026 and 2027.
• As fab and outsourced semiconductor assembly and test (OSAT) facilities become operational, it will be a key milestone in India’s quest for self-reliance.   
• The focus must shift towards getting the entire ecosystem in India—essentially the supply chain, which is believed to be the focus area under the proposed India Semiconductor Mission 2.0.  

Artificial Intelligence

AI adoption on the rise

Artificial intelligence (AI) has become the focal theme for Indian enterprises as they seek to engage deeply with this technology platform to drive completely different outcomes in their businesses, be it for sales, customer experience or higher efficiency.

In an interview with EnterpriseStory, Venkat Sitaram, Senior Director & Country Head – Dell ISG India, said the demand for AI solutions will only continue to grow in the country. The AI requirements of Indian enterprises are varied in nature, and the Infrastructure Solutions Group (ISG) of Dell aims to fulfil all these needs.

Interview excerpts:

• AI is here to stay, and there is more (innovation) coming our way, says Sitaram. 
• “AI is a massive disruptor. The amount of unstructured data growth we are seeing is unprecedented. That’s probably creating an opportunity for customers to relook at their data environment and consider a data platform.” 
• According to Sitaram, the sectors high on AI adoption include BFSI, telecom, manufacturing, energy utilities, retail, pharma and hospitality. 

News & updates

• Acquisition: Meta is set to acquire Chinese-founded artificial intelligence startup Manus, as the technology giant accelerates efforts to integrate advanced AI across its platforms.
• Price rally: Copper is on track for its biggest annual price rise in more than a decade, driven by supply disruptions, a weakening US dollar, improving expectations for Chinese economic growth—and blockbuster spending on artificial intelligence.
• Investment: SoftBank Group has completed its $40-billion investment in OpenAI, CNBC reported, citing people familiar with the matter, marking one of the largest private funding rounds ever and deepening founder Masayoshi Son’s bet on AI.

What desert is home to the Ahaggar and Tibesti mountains?

Answer: Sahara

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