Mobility, Chipsets, Autonomous Vehicles and the Next Frontiers of Space

By Aroonim Bhuyan

New Delhi. Sitting down during a pleasant February afternoon here, Vivek Chhabra, CEO of the San Diego, California-based 21iQLabs, shared his life experiences as a tech entrepreneur, his company’s outlook, his vision for India in this age of artificial intelligence and the future of defense technology.

Chhabra, an IIT-BHU graduate in computer science, began his journey in Ghaziabad in a family that blended business and engineering.

“I grew up in a household where my grandfather ran businesses, my father was an engineer and my mother an educator. So, I learned from multiple sides as I grew up,” he told India Strategic during an interaction.

After completing his computer science engineering from IIT-BHU, and later on Management degree from NYU, he worked at the Centre for Development of Telematics (C-DOT) in India before moving to the US in 1994. His global career includes stints at IBM Research, Texas Instruments, and Marvell Technology, where he helped build the company’s mobile chipset business.

Chhabra’s stints in IBM Research, C-DOT, Mitel Networks, Atsana (a startup), and the pioneering chip maker Texas Instruments, Marvell Technologies encompasses a huge experience in engineering, product management and marketing of products in mobile handset, cellular Internet of Things (IoT), set-top box (STB) and infrastructure including Tier-1 original equipment manufacturing (OEM) design wins, content ecosystem and Tier 1 carriers globally. He builds lead teams and advises teams in startups in Silicon Valley.

His LinkedIn profile states: “Responsible for BU, Global Marketing and business development of Marvell products to OEMs, Global Operators, ODMs and ecosystem in NA, Europe, China, India, Indonesia, etc with C level relationships. Dual role in addition to GM and Head of Mobile and Cellular IoT business that includes product management, marketing, strategy, Android Google based Wearables, Cellular IoT and Mobile handset devices globally Worked with Google Android, Microsoft. Mozilla, Brillo and lead ecosystems globally. Extensive experience in leading engineering teams, global portfolios and building business and global partnerships from ground up with C level relationships.” Now in addition to above, he focussed on influencing and driving change in Automotive industry by working with global ecosystem on software defined and autonomous vehicles.

Next Generation Global Connectivity and Mobility Evolution

Chhabra specializes in various technologies and global ecosystem that include wireless broadband standards for for mobile devices, mobile handsets, automotive, IoT, multimedia, Linux, Android, Autonomous vehicles, Operating systems m robotics and applications infrastructure marketing and product development. Having travelled across 80 countries in the world, he has led large global teams in delivering solutions across complex value chains with optimal resource spend.

Initially focused on wireless communications and software, his company 21iQLabs has since expanded into autonomous and software-defined vehicles, while also engaging with satellite companies and hyperscalers.

“There’s a combination of satellite communications and application infrastructure coming together, especially around the compute paradigm needed to build AI,” he explained. His eye is set on the next frontier Space communications and technologies. Speaking on the sidelines of DefSat 2026, a flagship Indian defence-space conference and expo, at the Manekshaw Centre here, he said that coming to this conference was for him was to really understand how the defence, satellite world and connectivity are merging together.

“I feel that there is a lot of contribution (to be made),” Chhabra said. “I would be able to make it in there because that requires new set of technologies, new set of chipsets, software, infrastructure.”

He is of the view that low-earth orbit (LEO) and other satellite systems will act as “workhorses” in the next connectivity revolution. The real question, he said, is what technologies are built on top of them.

“It’s about what kind of connectivity technology you put in there – optical, data centre integration, 5G today, 6G tomorrow, and even 7G as standards evolve,” Chhabra said.

While satellite-enabled connectivity is already appearing in devices like the iPhone, he expects these to become commonplace as chipsets evolve.

Affordability and Addressing digital divide

Affordability and reach remains a key challenge.

“The real test is how you cost-drive these solutions so they can be adopted by the common man in India. Right now, it’s still expensive,” Chhabra opined.

Discussing autonomous mobility, he said most vehicles today are still at Level 2 or Level 2+ automation, with Level 3 systems just beginning to emerge. True disruption, he argued, lies in Level 4 autonomy. Evolution here will also mean tremendous impact on defence systems and mobility.

Pointing to Waymo, the self-driving technology company backed by Google, he cited driverless taxis already operating in cities such as San Francisco and San Diego.

“You can call a car through an app, it arrives without a driver, and takes you from point A to point B. That’s Level 4 autonomy,” he said. “Behind that are AI systems, compute engines, semiconductors and advanced sensors – and many of these technologies will also have defence and broader industrial applications.”

Though 21iQLabs does not yet have a physical presence in India, Chhabra maintains strong industry relationships, having worked earlier with major telecom players such as Reliance Jio and Airtel.

“I’m thinking of opening up an office in India so that we can do some real groundwork” he said.

Also having attended the India AI Impact Summit in New Delhi, he said that he was impressed by the participation of over 500 startups in the event.

Beyond business, Chhabra is also involved in philanthropy through a nonprofit initiative called 21iQInnovation, which teaches entrepreneurship skills to high school students in the US. He thinks that changing the mindset and building holistic skills at an early stage is key to build better leaders.

Engineering Institutions in India, and Business Mindset

“I believe that when I was growing up in India, I got an environment of business and engineering together at home,” he said. “So, I think that today’s kids don’t get that that much. I believe that creating an early-stage entrepreneur mindset is very, very important. So, I teach them a blend of technology and entrepreneurship skills.”

The program, now largely run by his wife who works in education, blends technology and entrepreneurship training for students from grades nine to 12. He would like to collaborate with education institutes in India to build vocational curriculum that bring jobs and build entrepreneurial mindset, not just mere worthless degrees.