DataWind Inc, the manufacturer of low-cost Aakash tablet computers, plans to invest a significant portion of the Rs 168 crore (30 million Canadian dollars) it had raised through an Initial Public Offering (IPO) in Canada this month in the expansion of manufacturing capacities, particularly in India.
The company, which considers India its core market, has a touch panel facility at Amritsar and two assembly units in the National Capital Region (NCR). DataWind has a touch panel unit in Montreal in Canada.
"India is a core market for us and a significant portion of the funds raised through the IPO will go into expansion in India," Suneet Singh Tuli, chief executive of DataWind said. "We are focused on increasing the supply of our products by three to four times and for that we would be expanding our manufacturing facilities in India."
DataWind has been recognised by the MIT Technology Review in its 2014 list of the World's 50 Smartest Companies, as the Canada-based company is acknowledged for breaking the affordability barrier for tablet computers. The company had made tablet computer Aakash, which cost the government Rs 2,276 a unit.
DataWind, looking to develop solutions that can facilitate access to the internet at an affordable price, on Thursday entered a partnership with Bharat Sanchar Nigam to bundle 12-month free browsing with its devices. The free browsing will be limited to DataWind's UbiSurfer browser.
The company announced its partnership with retail chain UniverCell for selling its products. So far, DataWind products have been sold only through e-commerce and direct-to-consumer channels.
