Bengaluru, Oct 20 (IANS): Global med-tech company Siemens Healthineers on Tuesday said it plans to invest Rs 1,300 crore over the next five years in an innovation hub in Bengaluru.
The investment aims to make India a manufacturing centre for the company's emerging market products.
The innovation hub will be housed in a new campus that will combine R&D and manufacturing to make India a centre of competence for the design and development of entry-level products, said the company headquartered in Erlangen, Germany.
Siemens Healthineers said it plans to hire an additional 1,800 skilled digital tech experts to expand its digital capabilities in the next 10 years.
"This investment is the largest we have ever made in India. It will play a key role in taking our business to the next level by driving digitalisation and expanding our portfolio for emerging markets," Elisabeth Staudinger, President Asia Pacific, Siemens Healthineers, said in a statement.
"The innovation hub in Bengaluru will demonstrate our commitment to advance healthcare through cutting edge digital technologies as well as through accessible and affordable innovations driven from India."
When completed in 2025, the first phase of the new campus will include 70,000 square meters of office space for the enlarged R&D centre and 5,000 square metres of factory space, the company said.
The Bengaluru campus will be one of four innovation hubs of the company, with the other hubs located in the US, Germany, and China.
The innovation hub at Bengaluru will include centres of competence in digital technologies such as data analytics, Artificial Intelligence (AI), immersive technologies like augmented and virtual reality, user experience, and cybersecurity.
Siemens Healthineers said it has already invested about Rs 2,500 crore in R&D in India.
With about 50 per cent of all the software engineers in Siemens Healthineers, the existing R&D centre at Bengaluru plays a strategic role in developing cutting edge software products and platforms for all three segments of the company -- imaging, diagnostics, and advanced therapies.