In a remote corner of southern India, amidst the red soil and millet fields of Devanahalli, a futuristic structure rises — a massive iPhone factory that resembles a spaceship. Operated by Taiwanese tech giant Foxconn, the primary assembler of iPhones for Apple, the factory is proof of a bold $2.5 billion investment and India’s growing role in global electronics manufacturing.
The sprawling 121-hectare site, still expanding, is already a symbol of what many, including former U.S. President Donald Trump, hoped Apple would do in America: reshore high-tech manufacturing. But while the Devanahalli factory shows how attractive that idea can be, it also highlights the challenges of replicating such industrial success in the U.S. without sustained government support and workforce training.
A Strategic Shift After the Pandemic
Apple began rethinking its reliance on Chinese factories around the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. With geopolitical tensions rising and global supply chains strained, India emerged as a promising alternative. Foxconn’s move to Devanahalli follows this strategy. According to Counterpoint Research, India produced 18% of global iPhones earlier this year — a dramatic rise given Foxconn began Indian production only two years ago. By the end of 2025, that figure is expected to increase to 25–30%.
Thousands of Jobs and a Growing Ecosystem
Currently, about 8,000 people work across two production buildings, with plans to grow the workforce to 40,000. Dormitories for workers — many of them women — are under construction, and the impact on the local economy is already visible. Landowners are cashing in on rising demand, job seekers are pouring in, and a supply chain of small industries is forming, similar to the networks that power China’s factory cities.
Some of these companies are Indian, while others hail from Taiwan, South Korea, and the United States — many setting up shop in India for the first time. The industrial ripple effect is reaching Bengaluru, an 8-million-strong tech city that historically focused on aerospace and later became a global hub for IT services. Now, it’s seeing a return to manufacturing roots.
The Apple Ecosystem Is Taking Root
Suppliers of tiny components, assembly line machinery, and manpower are converging in Devanahalli. A plastic part maker for ATMs hosted a Foxconn delegation, and a spinning machinery foundry expects to soon produce metal components for iPhone assembly. Meanwhile, Indo-MIM, a nearby Indian firm led by a U.S.-born CEO, is already making molds and supports for the Foxconn plant.
Indo-MIM CEO Krishna Chivukula sees the region’s engineering talent as a major advantage. “People here are hungry for opportunity,” he said, noting that the dense cluster of specialized firms allows his company to focus on its core strengths instead of producing every tool internally.
Government Push and Policy Support
India’s efforts to become a manufacturing powerhouse are not new. As early as 2015, Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the “Make in India” initiative, aiming to increase advanced manufacturing and reduce dependency on imports. Since 2020, the government has offered $26 billion in subsidies for strategic sectors.
The most urgent goal: job creation. Unlike the U.S., where labor shortages in manufacturing are common, India faces the opposite problem. Nearly half the population still works in agriculture, and to keep up with demographic growth, India must generate about 10 million new jobs every year.
Despite progress, India still imports many of the high-value components used in iPhones — chips, camera modules, and other critical parts. Critics call the country’s current role “screwdriver work,” but India is pushing to localize more value. Domestic suppliers now provide Apple with casings, specialized glass, and coatings. Apple, which opened its first retail stores in India two years ago, is under pressure to source 30% of its product value locally by 2028.
A Race for Talent — and Results
The rise of factories is transforming communities like Doddagollahalli, a village just a short walk from Foxconn’s gates. Some residents now rent rooms to factory workers, while others — like Sneha, a math graduate working the day shift — have found new jobs and stability close to home.
At Zetwerk, another Indian contract manufacturer with operations in Devanahalli, Josh Foulger, a veteran of Foxconn, reports receiving hundreds of applications from engineering graduates. Karnataka state alone has a population nearly half the size of Vietnam — a scale that provides an enormous labor advantage.
Foulger emphasized that India’s manufacturing surge is democratic — offering jobs across all social and educational levels, from engineers and managers to machine operators. “All Indian states want factories,” he said. “The manufacturing industry does a great job creating good jobs.”
The Future of iPhone Production
While 84% of Apple’s suppliers still have plants in China, the Devanahalli plant signals a strategic rebalancing. It represents a major step in Apple’s effort to diversify production and reduce risk. And for India, it marks a leap toward economic independence and technological relevance.
Though challenges remain — from infrastructure gaps to the need for more domestic innovation — the Foxconn plant is a sign that India is not just competing in global manufacturing, but redefining it.
With tens of thousands of workers like Sneha and hundreds of suppliers forming a new industrial web, the iPhone’s future may be more Indian than ever before.