General Motors, AMD too set up B’lore design & research units

Leading automobile manufacturers General Motors and computer chip major Advanced Micro Devices...

Leading automobile manufacturers General Motors and computer chip major Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) became the latest global companies to locate design and research facilities in Bangalore on Thursday. GM India opened its digital vehicle design studio saying it would strengthen the company’s global presence, providing world-class design services to operations in India and other parts of the world.

AMD opened a new silicon design and platform research and development facility saying the company’s Indian employees will play a key role in its global design network. The automobile giants and computer chip makers follow the likes of GE, Intel, Cisco, Motorola, Microsoft, Google and Nokia in creating design and research facilities in the IT capital. “It is the first digital studio for vehicles in India with cutting-edge technology,” GM vice-president Global Design Ed Welburn said at the opening of the studio.

The new facility, located at the GM Technical Centre-India (GMTCI), will house around 70 engineers by the end of the year, he said. The studio will function as a ‘listening post’ to gather and understand local product design requirements apart from serving as an important component of GM’s 11-member global design network, Welburn said. “By leveraging the unmatched global resources and best practices of the GM group, it will carry out important projects for GM in India, as well as work with other design facilities on important projects for GM on a worldwide basis,” he said.

AMD chairman and CEO, Hector Ruiz who inaugurated the company’s new facility said “engineering employees in India play a critical role in AMD’s global design network.” The new center gives employees the equipment and resources to excel, he said. “In AMD’s quest to become the technology partner of choice for the industry, this facility is vital to help us design and deliver industry-leading solutions specifically tailored to the needs of our customers in India, and for customers worldwide,” Ruiz said.