Penguin Random House India is proud to announce the publication of The Chip Age: How Semiconductors Became the World’s Most Powerful Resource by renowned chip expert Rakesh Kumar. A sweeping and accessible account of one of the most consequential technologies of our time, the book will be published under the Penguin imprint in September 2026.
Chips are everywhere. They power our phones and computers, cars and medical equipment, communication networks and data centres. They underpin artificial intelligence and modern defence systems and increasingly sit at the heart of the struggle for economic and geopolitical power. Yet the extraordinary industry behind these tiny devices—and the fragile global network required to make them—remains largely invisible to most of us.
In The Chip Age, Rakesh Kumar brings this hidden world vividly into view. Moving from the birth and evolution of the semiconductor to the rise of Silicon Valley, Taiwan and the global chip economy, Kumar explains how chips transformed modern life, how they are designed and manufactured, and why producing them has become one of humanity’s most complex engineering undertakings. The book examines the technological, geopolitical, resource, supply-chain and trust challenges facing the industry, as well as the increasingly inseparable relationship between chips and artificial intelligence.
Kumar argues that we have entered an era in which control over chips can profoundly influence the political and economic fortunes of nations. As countries compete for technological sovereignty, semiconductor manufacturing has become entwined with tariffs, export controls, industrial policy, national security, and the US–China rivalry. The stakes are particularly high because the most advanced chips depend upon an extraordinarily concentrated global ecosystem.
The book also looks beyond the familiar story of technological progress to confront the costs of the chip revolution. Semiconductor production depends on vast quantities of energy, water, specialised materials and globally dispersed supply chains. As AI accelerates demand for computing power, access to energy itself could help determine which countries are able to develop the most advanced AI systems—and, in turn, reshape the global balance of technological and economic power.
For India, these questions have particular urgency. As the country seeks a larger place in the global semiconductor ecosystem, Kumar considers the opportunities and strategic choices ahead. He suggests that India is likely to focus initially on legacy-chip manufacturing, while its continued rise as a global power could eventually encourage more ambitious efforts in advanced semiconductor manufacturing.
Part history, part technological explainer and part examination of the geopolitical forces shaping our future, The Chip Age asks a defining question of our time: if chips power virtually every aspect of modern civilisation, who will control the technology that powers the chips?
As Kumar shows, the answer will have consequences far beyond the technology industry. Chips will influence the future of AI, economic growth, national security, global alliances and even environmental sustainability. The twenty-first century, he argues, is truly the chip age.
About The Author
Rakesh Kumar is a Professor and John Bardeen Faculty Scholar in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. A renowned expert on chips, he has received multiple awards for his influence on chip research and the semiconductor industry. Technologies he has developed now power chips used in phones, tablets and computers. He has written extensively about chips for a general audience and has commented on semiconductor issues for The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, the BBC, and Fortune, among others. He has also co-founded two chip companies and advises several others.
Advance Praise for The Chip Age
“This expert and up-to-date primer on chipmaking is a must-read if you’re concerned about AI, the battle for resources it has sparked, and its environmental and economic consequences.”
— Peter Forbes, author of Thinking Small and Large
“[This book] brings home the immense significance of computer chips for modern technology and everyday life—and how fragile that ecosystem is.”
— Brian Clegg, author of The Quantum Age
Book Details
Title: The Chip Age: How Semiconductors Became the World’s Most Powerful Resource
Author: Rakesh Kumar
Imprint: Penguin
Publication: September 2026
Format: Paperback
Pages: 312
Price: ₹599
