Semiconductor design: the part of the value chain Mexico still isn't capturing

Mexico imports more than $20 billion in integrated circuits each year. This figure is usually read as a sign of dependence, but it can also be read as the exact size of the opportunity: all that demand already exists, is already being paid for, and is currently supplied almost entirely from abroad.

The conversation about semiconductors in Mexico has focused on manufacturing, and rightly so: it is the most visible part and the one that requires the most capital. But there is another layer of the value chain that relies less on physical investment and more on talent, software, and intellectual property: chip design. This is the stage where what a semiconductor does is defined before it physically exists, and it is also the stage where a country without a mature manufacturing industry can begin participating more quickly, with a lower barrier to entry.

The timing is no coincidence. The United States' CHIPS Act is pressuring companies in the sector to move supply chains out of China and actively seeks to diversify toward close partners. On the domestic side, Plan México already explicitly envisions a chip design center and a manufacturing center open to private investment. Both macro-level pieces are pointing in the same direction at the same time, something that does not happen often in industries like these.

The real question for a foreign semiconductor design company is not whether Mexico imports enough volume to justify a local presence; the data has already settled that part. The question is how to enter without the process of opening up the market, hiring specialized talent, and negotiating with the manufacturing and government ecosystem taking longer than it takes a competitor with better local execution to seize the window of opportunity first.

This is where an exclusive representation model comes in: a foreign design company does not need to rebuild relationships with Mexico's industrial and government ecosystem from scratch if it can partner with someone who has already established them. There is no product risk; the design is already validated in its home market. The real risk lies in local execution, and that is precisely the area where the right partner reduces risk.

At Grupo Aro, we are closely following this category within our Technology business line as one of the subverticals with the strongest macro tailwinds for the coming years.

If you have a semiconductor design company looking at this window of opportunity, or if this thesis resonates with you as an investor, let's talk: grupoaro.mx