Infinera intensifying focus on R&D activities and investment in India

US-based telecom equipment maker Infinera is intensifying its focus on research and development (R&D) activities in India and is boosting investments to expand its team of engineers to bolster its operations in India and globally, a top executive said.

“We’ve invested $1.3 billion in India to date. When I look at our forward R&D, it is getting more intense. We’re adding more and more resources in R&D in India,” David Heard, CEO of Infinera, told Moneycontrol. He added that Infinera will significantly accelerate its investment in research and development (R&D) in India and globally.

Infinera’s vertically integrated strategy, which involves manufacturing optical systems in-house and possessing an in-house optical semiconductor fab, combined with its R&D operations in India, positions it favourably to secure business in the market, Heard said, adding that 30 percent of the company’s global workforce is in India.

The company’s business in India has been growing, driven by the increasing demand for fiberisation from telecom operators and data centres and the expansion of subsea landing cables.

Infinera aims for India to contribute over 10 percent to the company’s global revenues, driven by sub-sea cable and data business growth. Heard said that India is Infinera’s “largest potential” market in Asia.

“A bunch of consortium customers have been laying subsea cables. We’ve been winning more than our fair share in subsea. India will continue to build a record number of data centers over the next five years. And those subsea cables are all landing in India, and they need to traverse and connect to these data centers,” Heard said.

Infinera’s global customers, such as Google, Microsoft, Amazon, and other large-scale web scalars, are coming to India. “…they might partner with Indian telcos to be able to connect subsea networks with terrestrial networks. This will drive data centres growth.”

The fiber expansion by Reliance Jio, Bharti Airtel, and other telecom companies has created fresh opportunities for Infinera. “Telcos’ plan to connect millions of new homes with fiber is good news. We make our chipsets, which allows us to help do that most constructively.”

Currently, Infinera manufactures its telecom equipment in Thailand while producing its own “compound” semiconductors in the US. Heard said that Infinera holds an advantage over Chinese vendors due to its tight control over its supply chain, including its US semiconductor manufacturing.

Infinera may also consider manufacturing its equipment in India if its business scales further. Moneycontrol