(Image source from: peruconnection.com.pe)
Shenzhen-based Chinese smartphone player OnePlus, which emerged as the best-selling premium smartphone in India in just three years in the market, the makers now announced its plans to set up an R & D (Research and Development) facility in Hyderabad.
According to a statement from the company, the facility will not only play a critical role in the development of Artificial Intelligence and Machine learning in OnePlus products but will also drive innovations that are centric and relevant to the company's Indian community.
OnePlus says that it weighed in several critical factors before zeroing in on Hyderabad for the R&D center, with the city being one of the most active start-up zones in the country, especially in the space of emerging technologies.
"In three years, we plan to grow the new R&D center in Hyderabad into our biggest globally. We plan to re-focus our R&D efforts on a large scale and drive innovations in India for the global product, especially on the software side with a special emphasis on Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning," said Pete Lau, Founder, and Chief Executive Officer, OnePlus while discussing the company's plans in India.
The R&D facility will play an important role as OnePlus charts its roadmap towards adopting the Indian market as its home ground.
OnePlus said in the statement that it is committed to achieving long-term growth in India, and with the commencement of operations at the new R&D center, OnePlus seeks to integrate and delve deeper into the 'Make in India' strategy.
The center will also contribute to nurturing and giving opportunities to fresh talent as the Company initiates the campus hiring program at a number of universities including the IIT Delhi and IIT Mumbai this year.
In line with the growing user base in Hyderabad, the company is also in process of expanding its offline presence in the region. It will shortly launch a OnePlus Experience Store in the city as well.
The brand currently has an Exclusive Service Centre in the city and is also present in retail outlets through its exclusive partnership with Croma and Reliance Digital.
India is not only one of the biggest markets for OnePlus with a growth rate of more than 100 percent. Banking on the growth, the company is set to make the country a center for product innovation. It has already upgraded to local production of PCBs as well as other smartphone components and will continue to look at further plans as the government announces the next wave of localization.
-Sowmya Sangam
