To advance the digitalisation of healthcare and better serve the needs of emerging markets, Siemens Healthineers on Tuesday announced plans to invest Rs 1,300 crore (EUR 160 million) in India over the next five years by setting up an innovation hub in Bengaluru. The innovation hub will be housed in a new state-of-the-art campus that combines the existing R&D centre and an ultra-modern medical imaging factory. To expand its digital capabilities, the company plans to add up to 1,800 digital talents in the next ten years. The investment is part of Siemens Healthineers’ strategy 2025, in which India plays an important role as a growth market for the company.
“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. 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,” said Elisabeth Staudinger, President Asia Pacific, Siemens Healthineers.
The Bengaluru campus will be one of four innovation hubs of the company, with other hubs located in the United States, Germany, and China. The innovation hub at Bengaluru will include centres of competence in digital technologies such as data analytics, artificial intelligence, immersive technologies like augmented and virtual reality, user experience, and cybersecurity.
Explaining the Siemens Healthineers innovation hub concept, Peter Schardt, the company’s Chief Technology Officer, pointed out, “The innovation hub in Bengaluru is an integral part of our global network of innovation that will further accelerate our ability to develop effective solutions quickly and with a strong focus on emerging markets, especially in Asia. The Bengaluru innovation hub will assume increased responsibility for customer centric solutions to serve such markets even better. Special focus is on solutions for the digitalisation of healthcare, which is the foundation for value-based and patient-centred medicine within the region and across the globe.”
So far, Siemens Healthineers has already invested about Rs 2,500 crore (EUR 300 million) in R&D in the country. With about 50% 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, the company said in a statement.
The investment aims to make India a manufacturing centre for the company’s emerging market products. Today, the Bengaluru factory is successfully manufacturing Cios Fit C-arms and Somatom.go CT scanners. These entry-level systems are designed, developed, and made in India and are sold in South-East Asia, Africa, Eastern Europe, and South America. Siemens Healthineers plans to expand its product portfolio to address the challenge of affordability that is specific to these markets.
Vivek Kanade, Executive Vice President Zone India, Siemens Healthineers, stated, “Closely integrating product development and clinical value creation at the new Bengaluru campus will significantly increase our ability to add more value to our customers. Innovative solutions and adaption of digitalisation would address current challenges and future needs of the Indian Healthcare industry.”
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 meters of factory space. To create a modern work environment for the employees and to meet the highest standards in sustainability and energy efficiency, an international architectural competition is planned to bring creativity into the design of the new campus.