Mivi looks beyond assembly, targets indigenous design and IP for smartphones

Mivi is looking to build an indigenous smartphone business with capabilities spanning design, engineering, and intellectual property, as the Indian electronics industry moves beyond manufacturing and assembly, Himanshu Tandon, Chief Business Officer, Mivi, said.

Mivi launched its first smartphone, the Mivi One 5G, on September 24, marking its entry into the smartphone market. The handset goes on sale today on Flipkart as part of the Big Billion Days sale, with an effective starting price of ₹11,999 for the 4GB RAM + 128GB storage variant, including applicable offers. Its regular starting price is ₹12,999.

Speaking at a fireside chat with Techarc’s Faisal Kawoosa, Tandon said the government’s push to build a domestic electronics ecosystem has created an opportunity for Indian brands to emerge in categories such as smartphones. “I think there is a concerted effort from the government side,” Tandon said, pointing to the development of manufacturing infrastructure under earlier schemes and the government’s more recent efforts to encourage Indian brands.

According to Tandon, India’s first phase was about creating the infrastructure required for manufacturing and assembly. The next phase, however, needs to focus on developing capabilities within the country. “I really like to commend the government in terms of creating that back infrastructure that we were lacking,” he said.

He added that companies such as Dixon and other Indian electronics manufacturers have helped create an assembly ecosystem, but the industry now needs to build deeper capabilities.“The first thing that we need to focus on, when we have created this Indian brand, is to create OEM capabilities, that is design capabilities in India,” Tandon said.

He identified three areas where India needs to build intellectual property capabilities: circuit and PCB design, industrial design and the software that runs on the hardware. “IP creation generally happens in three phases,” Tandon said, adding that these capabilities would be important if Indian brands are to become globally competitive rather than remaining dependent on overseas technology and design.

Mivi wants to build an India-to-world smartphone brand

Mivi, which has operated in the audio category for around a decade, is now attempting to replicate some of the engineering and R&D capabilities it has built there in smartphones.

Tandon said the company wants to move beyond being an Indian brand serving Indian consumers and instead build a business that can compete internationally. “We actually want to build a brand from India to the world,” he said.

The company is also looking to significantly expand its workforce as it builds out its smartphone and broader product portfolio. Tandon said Mivi is targeting a workforce of around 10,000 people over the next three years. “Since we were doing deep-tech capabilities in-house, definitely we will be requiring our young engineers to work for us,” he said.

AI is expected to be another part of that strategy. Tandon said Mivi is already in discussions with several AI companies to integrate their technologies into future products. “We were the first brand to introduce AI into an audio product. We want to be the first brand to basically get into deep technologies coming from Indian brands in our smartphone and other categories also,” he said.

Mivi also plans to expand its smartphone distribution beyond its current online-led model. Tandon said the company plans to work with large national and regional retail partners and expand offline experience centres next year.

On customer support, he said Mivi has already enabled more than 500 service centres across India, while pickup and logistics facilities are being developed for locations without direct service coverage. “Building the trust and quality” will be a key focus, Tandon said.

The company is also preparing for continued pressure from rising memory prices. Tandon said Mivi has secured around three months of advance memory requirements for the current product and expects prices to stabilise over the next six to 12 months, although he does not expect an immediate decline.