Home-bred handset maker Micromax Informatics plans to initially invest Rs 100 crore on services and innovation as it tries to move beyond the business of mobile phone hardware that has become more or less standardised. As part of the exercise, the Gurgaon-based company is developing a new set of smartphones on a forked version of the Android operating system, people privy to the development told ET.
The venture, code named Project Yureka, is likely to be formalised over the next two months, these people said. Part of the initial investment will go towards setting up research and development centres in Bangalore and Beijing, besides hiring top coding, programming and marketing talent.