OnePlus announced its plans for its R&D facility in Hyderabad. The facility will not only play a critical role in 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. Moreover, it will also leverage the experienced and ingenious talent from Hyderabad, one of the biggest IT hubs in the country.
OnePlus weighed in several critical factors before zeroing in on Hyderabad for the R&D centre. Apart from having some of the most passionate OnePlus community members, the city is also one of the most active start-up zones in the country, especially in the space of emerging technologies. It offers a sizeable pool of talent that the global smartphone maker sees great value in deploying and honing to suit the needs of its signature premium consumer experience.
“In three years, we plan to grow the new R&D centre 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 special emphasis on Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning,” said Pete Lau, Founder and CEO, OnePlus while discussing the company’s plans in India.
Hyderabad is undoubtedly one of the fastest growing markets for OnePlus. In line with the growing user base, the company is in process of expanding its offline presence in the region. In fact, local fans can soon expect access to their very own OnePlus Experience Store. 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.
OnePlus, as a brand, is built on its strength of product and community connect. It believes in constant engagement with the OnePlus community, which is gradually getting people to realise and relate with its vision of building a socially engaged and user-first technology company. The brand breathes and lives by its philosophy of Never Settle. The company respects diversity in opinions, primarily brought about by its culturally diverse workforce; of which each one is an enthusiast who loves what they do.
India is not only one of the biggest markets for OnePlus but is also the benchmark for creating globally successful products. With a growth rate of more than 100%, the country is well on its way to becoming a centre 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.
The R&D facility will play a crucial role as OnePlus charts its roadmap towards adopting the Indian market as its home ground. OnePlus is committed to achieving long-term growth in India, and with the commencement of operations at the new R&D centre, OnePlus seeks to integrate & delve deeper into the ‘Make in India’ strategy. The centre will also contribute to nurturing and giving opportunities to fresh talent as the Company initiates the campus hiring program at number of universities including the IIT Delhi and IIT Mumbai this year.