Background and Relevance
Guadalajara, Jalisco. As part of the strategy to establish Jalisco as a global leader in semiconductors, the state government and the Centro de Investigación y de Estudios Avanzados del Instituto Politécnico Nacional (Cinvestav) signed an agreement to create the first State Design Semiconductor Park.
This groundbreaking project in Mexico and Latin America aims to develop specialized talent in the global semiconductor industry, which is projected to reach a trillion dollars by 2030, according to Cindy Blanco, the Secretary of Economic Development (Sedeco) of Jalisco.
Blanco highlighted that Jalisco already has a significant presence in the design phase of this industry, with 70% of semiconductor companies located in the state.
Complementing Federal Strategy
The new state park complements the federal Kutsari program, which focuses on developing talent and creating semiconductor design products for government use. In contrast, the Jaliscan park aims to stimulate the industry through four strategic axes:
- Highly specialized talent formation: Allowing engineers in mechatronics or software to specialize in semiconductor design.
- Creation of new Jaliscan startups: Dedicated to semiconductor design with global reach.
- Attraction of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI): By strengthening the local talent ecosystem and collaborating with existing companies.
- Collaboration between private sector and academia: As the driving force for sustainable industry development.
Goals by 2030
Blanco explained that the project sets concrete results by the end of the current state administration in 2030.
- Specialization of 3,000 engineers in semiconductor design from the park.
- Creation of 10 Jaliscan startups in semiconductor design with global reach.
- Triplicate FDI, targeting $3 billion in new investments, potentially generating 3 to 7 jobs per million dollars invested, according to CEPAL estimates.
- Close coordination with the federal Kutsari strategy to align talent development and project attraction efforts.
Project Expansion
Blanco mentioned that the State Development Semiconductor Park will have two phases.
Phase zero will start in the current Cinvestav facilities, serving as a temporary headquarters and operational by March 2026. Phase one will construct a permanent building within the same complex.
Governor Pablo Lemus Navarro emphasized that the new building will have 4,600 square meters of construction. He stressed, “What matters is not the outside but the content, as Jalisco is already a Latin American knowledge hub, and bringing this semiconductor design center is crucial for Jalisco’s development.”
In the medium term, the park plans to expand with satellite offices, starting with the Universidad de Guadalajara (UdeG), where Infineon Technologies donated an Assembly, Testing and Packaging (ATP) laboratory.
“This will enable us to not only be a design reference in Jalisco but also build the foundations for an assembly, testing, and packaging industry, allowing Jalisco to dominate two of the three stages in semiconductor creation,” Blanco added.
With this expansion, Jalisco aims to control two key stages of the value chain—design and ATP—concentrating up to 44% of the semiconductor industry’s value.
