“Made in China, designed in California.”
For long, labels like these on gadgets were all too common. In fact, you might still see similar inscriptions on the tech giant Apple’s products.
That’s because many companies that design electronic products were based in the US, particularly California, while manufacturing happened in countries providing cheap labour. But that’s no longer the dominant practice.
China and Taiwan have seen an explosion in the number of original design manufacturers (ODMs) original design manufacturers (ODMs) Original design manufacturers ODMs are companies that specialise in designing and manufacturing electronic products on behalf of other companies, often under the other company's brand name. , who work with a wide range of clients from around the world. The countries have invested heavily in developing their technological capabilities and have become increasingly skilled in design and engineering. Chinese or Taiwanese ODMs, such as Quanta, Accton, and Inventec, have revenues running in billions of dollars. Quanta’s client list, for instance, includes the who’s who of the tech world—Apple, Dell, Microsoft, Amazon, Lenovo, among others.
While India has many software engineering services and manufacturing companies that offer design services design services Design services Design services companies typically work on a project basis, providing design and engineering services to clients based on their specific briefs. The resulting designs are typically owned by the client. In contrast, ODMs develop their own designs and then sell these products to clients under their own branding. , some would argue that none are worth the “ODM” moniker. But that’s exactly the title Video Voice Data Network (VVDN) Technologies Pvt. Ltd—a Gurugram-headquartered hardware design and manufacturing company—is after.
Founded in 2007, the company has designed products, such as industrial CCTV cameras, internet-of-things internet-of-things Internet-of-things The Internet-of-things describes physical objects with sensors, processing ability, software and other technologies that connect and exchange data with other devices and systems over the Internet or other communications networks. gadgets, and devices used in the telecom and automotive sectors. While non-disclosure agreements—to protect trade secrets and confidential information—prevent VVDN from revealing the names of many of its clients, a few known ones include smart-wearables company Boat, US-based computer networking company Netgear, and semiconductor companies Intel Corp. and Qualcomm Inc. The company is also in talks with the telecom giant Bharti Airtel for a major contract to design advanced CCTV cameras.
According to several industry professionals and investors, VVDN is on the verge of closing a funding round of $100 million in the next couple of weeks, which will involve two investors: Kotak Funds, which will be the lead investor, and Motilal Oswal Private Equity (MOPE).
