Indus OS to launch operations soon in China

In a bid to explore tie-ups with the leading Chinese phone makers, Indus OS, the second most popular mobile operating system in India, is planning to open an office in China by May this year.

CEO Rakesh Deshmukh in an interview with ET confirmed the news and said, “It is going to be a small operation for mostly sales and business development with around 30-40 people. We currently have partnerships with six brands in the country. Our target is to have tie-ups with the top ten phone companies, and we are making efforts on that front.“

He also noted that as most such brands are headquartered out of China, it "makes sense for the company to have operations there."

The company also aims to expand in international markets like Sri Lanka, Indonesia and South Africa, which have similar local language issues like India. “Just like it is here, English is not the first language in those countries, and we think we can take the same solutions there,“ he said.

Indus OS that claims to be the world's first regional language operating system is also planning to launch the next version of its operating system, with more local features and advanced offerings on the translation and transliteration aspects for Indian users.

“We are just a few months away from launching it,“ said Deshmukh. The OS will also have unique features for showing prepaid balance consumed with each call apart from options such as details of data consumed, he said.

The OS claims the number two spot in terms of market share in the Android dominated Indian market ahead of Apple iOS and Microsoft Windows. It raised an undisclosed Series A2 funding with VenturEast and JSW Ventures as new investors, in October last year.