When your stock is down more than 24% for the year and you've missed earnings estimates, what do you do? If you're Marvell Technology (MRVL), you look to India.
The semiconductor company is making a significant push into the subcontinent, banking on local talent and innovation to help it capture growth in the red-hot artificial intelligence infrastructure market. It's a strategic bet at a time when Marvell needs wins wherever it can find them.
The expansion plan is concrete: grow the current India workforce of 1,700 employees by approximately 15% each year over the next three years. That's according to Navin Bishnoi, Marvell's India head, who spoke with Reuters about the company's ambitions. He wouldn't specify exactly how much the R&D budget would expand, but the commitment to increased research spending signals this isn't just about adding headcount.
Marvell already operates three key locations across India. Bengaluru serves as the India headquarters, Hyderabad develops data-center security solutions, and Pune specializes in embedded networking and storage technologies. The company is also working with domestic outsourced assembly and testing firms to align manufacturing plans, which fits neatly into Prime Minister Narendra Modi's semiconductor push to reduce import reliance.
Why India, Why Now
The timing makes sense when you look at the numbers. India has become the world's third-largest market for data center capacity, and Bishnoi sees substantial long-term opportunity ten years down the line. The company is currently negotiating new business with major cloud providers and local enterprises, positioning itself to ride the wave as AI infrastructure demand explodes globally.
Marvell got a boost Thursday when Nvidia (NVDA) delivered upbeat quarterly results that triggered a rally across the semiconductor sector. The sympathy trade was welcome news for a stock that's been struggling lately.
The struggles are real. Beyond the 24% year-to-date decline, Marvell has missed revenue estimates in at least two of the last three quarters and earnings per share estimates at least once during that period. Concerns about softness in non-data center segments haven't helped, nor have geopolitical tensions with China.
The SoftBank Wild Card
Then there's the buyout buzz. A recent report indicated that SoftBank Group Corp (SFTBY) explored acquiring Marvell earlier in 2025. The Japanese conglomerate apparently considered combining Marvell with Arm Holdings (ARM), the chip designer it owns. The two sides aren't currently in talks, but sources told Bloomberg that SoftBank could revisit a takeover in the future. If it happens, it would mark the largest deal in semiconductor history as artificial intelligence drives unprecedented interest in the sector.
For now, Marvell is focused on execution rather than acquisition speculation. As a fabless chipmaker that designs but doesn't manufacture chips, the company needs partners and infrastructure in the right places. India checks both boxes, offering engineering talent, growing data center demand, and alignment with government priorities.
Whether the India expansion can turn around Marvell's stock performance remains to be seen. But with AI infrastructure spending showing no signs of slowing down, betting on one of the world's fastest-growing tech markets seems like a reasonable play. The question is whether it happens fast enough to satisfy impatient investors or potential suitors circling overhead.
Price Action: Marvell stock was trading 2.50% higher at $83.84 as of last check on Thursday.