NEW DELHI: Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin announced on Friday that Google Pixel smartphones will soon be manufactured at a facility near Chennai. Samsung and Apple are already making their smartphones in Chennai. India is the second-largest smartphone market, and the demand for premium smartphones is rising. To fulfill this demand, Alphabet (the parent company of Google) has decided to join the fray.
State Industry Minister TRB Raja visited the headquarters of Google and Foxconn in the US and held discussions. As a result of these discussions and negotiations, Google officials offered to set up a Google Pixel smartphone manufacturing unit in Chennai, the Chief Minister said on Friday.
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Raja posted on X, “The lead that Tamil Nadu today has in the #Electronics #Industry is unmatched and will keep increasing for a long, long time. The high-end jobs that this sector has created in Tennessee over the past few years will increase multifold. The #TNIndustry is set for a massive thrust in the near future, with many more international giants making plans to set up shop in the #TalentCapitalofIndia, #TamilNadu.”
The Lead that Tamil Nadu today has, in the #Electronics #Industry, is unmatched and will keep increasing for a long long time and the high end jobs that this sector has created in TN over the past few years will increase multifold : )#TNIndustry is set for a Massive thrust in…
— Dr. T R B Rajaa (@TRBRajaa) May 23, 2024
“India is a priority market for Pixel smartphones. We are committed to bringing the best of our hardware and software capabilities to people across the country,” said Google in a blog post.
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Officials from Google met with CM Stalin on Thursday in Chennai. The CM said that this initiative will lead to employment generation in the state for youth who have suitable skills.
“We shared plans at Google for India to manufacture Pixel smartphones locally and expect the first device to roll out in 2024. We are committed to being a trusted partner in India’s digital growth and appreciate the support for Make in India,” said Sundar Pichai in October 2023.
India’s smartphone market shipped 34 million smartphone units in the first quarter of 2024, as per the Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker by the International Data Corporation.
Tamil Nadu will be India’s largest exporter of electronic goods in the financial year 2023, accounting for 30% of all electronic goods exports from India in the financial year 2024. Foxconn and Pegatron are assembling more than 80% of Apple’s iPhones in India from Tamil Nadu, which is worth 14 billion dollars.