Chip (ASIC) design and FPGA logic design can certainly be done remote. Electronics is sometimes done sort-of remote by shipping kit to little consulting firms

Chip (ASIC) design and FPGA logic design can certainly be done remote. Electronics is sometimes done sort-of remote by shipping kit to little consulting firms of one or a handful or people who work on it then ship it back. For them, remote means the supplier has their own little lab/workshop with scopes, soldering & other electronic tools, and other test & measurement kit. Not a lot else required. CAD for product design can be done remote, and you can get the results manufactured elsewhere. Finally, I know of a stealth-mode startup that is working on making custom silicon available at a low-ish cost, similar to the way you can order PCBs today.