Alphabet Inc’s Google will start manufacturing smartphones in India and its flagship Pixel 8 will be available next year, an executive said on Thursday, as the tech giant joins global companies setting up facilities in the South Asian nation.
At a Google for India event in New Delhi, Google made five big announcements which includes:
– Manufacturing Pixel smartphones in India, with the flagship Pixel 8 which will be available by 2024
– Making our products even better through AI and local partnerships
– Expanding the reach of formal credit in India
– Using our Cloud infrastructure for citizen-centric services and solutions
– Strengthening the safety of the Indian internet
Rick Osterloh, Senior Vice President of devices and services, said Google will partner with international and domestic manufacturers to produce the smartphones locally. India is a priority market for Pixel smartphones, and we’re committed to bringing the best of our hardware and underlying built-in software capabilities to people across the country,” Osterloh said.
Google, which runs one of the largest payment apps via Google Pay, also said that it will tie up with an Indian non-bank lender, DMI Finance, for small loans for merchants starting at 15,000 rupees ($180). The company also announced plans to allow users to book metro tickets directly from the Google maps app.
In an official release, Google said, “We’re working to meet the diversity of the country’s local languages, build tools to deliver better experiences between merchants and shoppers, and utilize the power of India’s home-grown Digital Public infrastructure to help realize the dream of Digital India.”
During a virtual meeting held last week with Alphabet’s CEO, Sundar Pichai, Prime Minister Narendra Modi extended a warm welcome to Google’s intentions of establishing a worldwide fintech operations hub at Gujarat International Finance Tec-City (GIFT).
Various global corporations are setting their sights on India as the next major avenue for expansion. This includes Apple, which is expected to represent 7% of total smartphone sales in the country from July to December, as reported by market researcher Counterpoint. Additionally, Micron Technology, a U.S. memory chip company, recently disclosed its plans to establish its inaugural semiconductor manufacturing facility in India.