New Delhi, DEC 02 :
Premium smartphone maker OnePlus is betting on the engineering talent pool in the country to drive innovation and expects India to become its largest research and development (R&D) base in the next three years.
The company, which has recently set up its R&D centre in Hyderabad, has similar facilities in Shenzhen, Taiwan and the US. It has about 700 people globally working in its R&D teams.
“We are looking at India as a global talent hub for the company. The idea is to have a long-term approach, bringing the best of talent and training them and have them work with us over the long term…. We anticipate that India will be our largest R&D base in three or more years,” OnePlus co-founder and CEO Pete Lau told PTI.
He added that the company is engaging with the top engineering colleges like IITs to scout for talent. The India R&D team has under 100 people currently. The focus, Lau said, is on using software and technologies like artificial intelligence to make a global impact.
He, however, declined to comment on how the headcount of the India R&D team would be ramped up. Lau highlighted that there is “significant untapped potential” in the Indian market as the premium segment accounts for about 4-5 percent of the overall smartphone shipment.
“The premium segment is about 4-5 percent right now but if 3-5 years from now, it were to be 15-20 percent, the market scenario would be totally different…we are here for the long play. That is what we have told the India team, they need to focus on being healthy and sustainable in the long-term,” he said.
