Foxconn's Bharat FIH opens research, development centre in Chennai

Electronic manufacturing services firm Foxconn's subsidiary Bharat FIH, formerly known as Rising Stars Mobile India, has opened a research and development centre at the IIT Madras Research Park in Chennai, the company said on Tuesday.

It will be among the first R&D centres in India to design end-to-end 5G devices and will offer end-to-end services to customers, including product design, tooling and moulding, global sourcing and manufacturing services for smartphones and other products and services in the electronics segment.

Bharat FIH makes devices for Xiaomi and Nokia.

Bharat FIH Country Head and Managing Director Josh Foulger said there is a clear market need for innovative technologies and products with quick turnaround times in the ever-changing electronics segment.

"Our India R&D will capitalise on our manufacturing strengths and collaborate with our global teams under the Foxconn Technology Group in product design, cost optimisation, customer experience, sourcing, tooling and manufacturing," Foulger said.

The company said the R&D facility will be equipped to offer a tailor-made robust product designed for all current and future cutting-edge technologies for its global and Indian customers.

"Bharat FIH R&D centre will be among the first R&D centres in India to design end-to-end 5G devices. This centre will also leverage the IT strength and local talents," Foulger said.

Bharat FIH R&D centre will operate in four domains namely, industrial, mechanical, hardware and software design, and will be aligned to help translate customer requirements into product specifications for all electronic products.

"OEM (original equipment manufacturer) brands in the electronics sector will have access to our latest technologies and robust designs based on deep consumer insights and assist them in shortening their product development cycles," Foulger said.