Broadcom bets big on India R&D centre

By Gizbot Bureau

| Published: Friday, February 20, 2015, 17:14 [IST]

American chipmaker Broadcom is betting big on opportunities in the Internet of Things and wearables market in India as it develops solutions tailored to India and other emerging nations from its Bangalore R&D unit.

Broadcom, which has a global headcount of about 11,000 people, has about 1,500 people at its India research and development centre. "India is a key market for us and our Bangalore centre is doing important work around wireless, networking and video technologies, which is about 75 per cent of our company's profile," Broadcom Semiconductor India Managing Director Rajiv Kapur told PTI.

The centre is working on solutions not just for India but also those that are suited to meet the needs of other emerging nations as well, he added. India is the largest R&D base for the USD 8.43 billion firm outside of the US.

Founded in 1991, the company spends about USD 2.4 billion annually on R&D. The company does not disclose country-specific revenue details. Talking about opportunities in the Indian market, Broadcom SVP and GM (Wireless Connectivity) Rahul Patel said as more devices get connected to the Internet, the market will continue to expand. "You have to see how the devices market is booming. Everything is getting connected to the Internet and it is estimated that about one billion devices will be connected over the next 3-5 years," he added.

Patel said the company will provide local technical support, certified modules and tools to help partners come out with connected devices with shorter time to market. "We are investing in creating local teams and support as well as building a partner ecosystem to help innovators," he said. He, however, declined to comment on investment details for the Indian market.

The California-headquartered firm counts Amazon, Apple, Cisco, Dell, Huawei, Samsung and ZTE among its global customers. In India, its clients include Videocon, Tejas Networks, Karbonn, Micromax and Lava. Broadcom has partnered India's largest software services firm Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) to integrate its Wireless Internet Connectivity for Embedded Devices (WICED) solutions on to the latter's Connected Universe Platform (TCUP).

This will enable rapid development and deployment of Internet of Things solutions and smart, connected products. WICED solutions enables development of Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) connected devices like home appliances, home monitoring and control, health and fitness gear, digital cameras and imaging devices, sensors and consumer products like toys and pet trackers.

Source: PTI