Google LLC said it will contract manufacture its Pixel smartphone in India, with the first locally made device expected next year.
The company intends to start manufacturing with the latest product, Pixel 8, Rick Osterloh, senior vice president for devices and services at Google, said at the Google for India event on Thursday.
Electronics & Information Technology Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw was present at the event.
Google's first India-made devices are expected to hit the market in 2024, the company said. It plans to partner with international and domestic smartphone makers.
“It's a good decision that Google has taken. It's good for Google and India,” Vaishnaw said during a fireside chat at the event. “Just about 10 years back, electronics manufacturing was only about $25 billion, now it's about $105 billion."
The components ecosystem is also developing rapidly, according to Vaishnaw. Mobile manufacturing was negligible nine years back and today, it is close to $44 billion, with exports contributing $11 billion, he said.
Speaking to reporters, Vaishnaw added that he also expects Google to manufacture its Tensor chips, used exclusively in its Pixel devices, in India. "They should make it in India in the next three years."
The initiative to manufacture Pixel in India comes days after Google's tie-up with HP Inc. to manufacture its signature Chromebooks in the country.
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