Alphabet’s Google will begin producing smartphones in India, and its flagship Pixel 8 will be available in 2024, according to a company executive on Thursday.
Senior Vice President of Devices and Services Rick Osterloh stated at a Google for India event that Google will collaborate with both domestic and foreign manufacturers to make the smartphones domestically.
“India is a priority market for Pixel smartphones, and we’re committed to bringing the best of our hardware and underlying built-in software capabilities to people across the country,” Osterloh said.
With Google Pay, one of the most popular payment apps, Google also said on Thursday that it will collaborate with DMI Finance, an Indian non-bank lender, to offer small loans to businesses starting at 15,000 rupees ($180).
The country’s demand for modest personal loans is on the rise right now, which has the Indian central bank worried. As a result, there is a bigger push into lending now.
India, where the majority of smartphones are powered by Google’s Android environment, is one of its main growth markets.
During a virtual meeting with Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai last week, Prime Minister Narendra Modi hailed Google’s intentions to establish a worldwide fintech operations centre at the Gujarat International Finance Tec-City.
