GE Appliance’s FirstBuild signed an agreement with the state of Telangana and T-Works to establish FirstBuild India at T-Works.
T-Works is a prototyping centre and makerspace being set up by the state government, on the lines of T-Hub, which is an incubator for software technology.
FirstBuild is a global co-creating community backed by GE Appliances, a Haier company. FirstBuild aims at bringing smart products and appliances to market faster through open product innovation that engages India’s growing maker community, the company said in a statement earlier this week.
As per the company, FirstBuild has already engaged thousands of makers in person and online with the aim of inventing a new world of appliances.
“The new location in India further strengthens the FirstBuild community by creating a place for the country’s greatest designers, engineers and innovators to develop working prototypes, measure market feasibility, and then build and deliver innovations for the home,” it said in a statement.
This is its first space in India, joining other makerspaces in Louisville, Kentucky, which opened in 2014, and in Shanghai, China, which opened in 2017.
“FirstBuild entities have harnessed community insights and the power of the maker movement to change how products come to market around the world. The new creative center is one of a kind in the Hyderabad region where budding creators will find an open community focused on building a new generation of appliances that transform the home. As the country’s largest makerspace, T-Works is the ideal location for FirstBuild India to begin its journey,” Melanie Cook, Chief Operating Officer for GE Appliances said.
T-Works currently has a makeshift office in Begumpet and will soon set up a 50,000 sq. ft. facility at Hyderabad Knowledge City, which is currently under construction. It is expected to be operational by November 2018. The Begumpet facility already has several startups working on prototypes.