Cadence names Alok Jain as India MD amid semiconductor push

Cadence Design Systems, a US-based software company that provides electronic design automation tools, semiconductor design technology, and computational software for enterprise and engineering use, has appointed Dr. Alok Jain as managing director for India.

The move puts a long-serving company executive in charge of one of Cadence’s key global engineering hubs at a time when India is expanding its semiconductor design and research base. Jain will lead the company’s strategy and operations in the country, with a focus on scaling teams, supporting innovation, and working with government, industry, and academic institutions tied to chip design and semiconductor development.

India has become a major part of Cadence’s global setup. The company said more than 30% of its worldwide workforce is based in India, with a large share of those teams working on core research and development and product engineering.

Jain has been with Cadence India since 1997 and currently serves as vice president in the System Verification Group. He has more than 35 years of industry experience and has been part of the leadership team that helped build Cadence’s Noida operations.

His appointment comes as India increases efforts to strengthen its semiconductor ecosystem through policy support, skills development, and closer industry participation. Cadence, which entered India in 1987, has worked with the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, AICTE, IITs, Tier 1 institutes, and more than 400 colleges and universities on chip design education and talent development.

Jain has also represented industry bodies such as the India Electronics and Semiconductor Association and the VLSI Society of India. He holds a BTech in electrical engineering from IIT Delhi, and MS and PhD degrees in electrical and computer engineering from Carnegie Mellon University. He has written more than 30 technical papers and holds 10 patents in formal and functional verification.

Anirudh Devgan, President and CEO of Cadence, said, "Alok’s deep technical expertise, coupled with his decades of leadership at Cadence, makes him the ideal leader to drive our India operations, a vital hub for Cadence’s R&D and global growth strategy."