Thales launches global research and technology lab in Bengaluru, elevating India’s innovation role
Bengaluru, February 16. French technology major Thales has launched its new Research & Technology (R&T) centre in Bengaluru, making India one of only five countries worldwide to host the company’s global corporate laboratories. The move places India alongside France, the United Kingdom, Canada and Singapore in Thales’s elite global research network.
The newly inaugurated Thales Research & Technology India facility is located at the company’s Engineering Competence Centre in Bengaluru. Its launch coincides with the India-France Year of Innovation 2026 and comes during the India AI Impact Summit, underscoring deepening technological collaboration between the two countries.
The inauguration ceremony was attended by Karnataka’s Minister for Electronics, IT and Biotechnology Priyank Kharge, French Consul General in Bengaluru Marc Lamy, La French Tech Director Julie Huguet, members of the visiting French tech delegation, senior industry leaders, and top Thales executives. The company was represented by Group Chief Technical Officer Bernhard Quendt and Vice-President (India) Ankur Kanaglekar.
The new centre will focus on advanced research in critical technologies, supporting India’s ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat’ vision of self-reliance. It will emphasise open innovation in the hardware domain and foster collaboration with start-ups, industry partners, academic institutions and government bodies. The facility will house a dedicated team of researchers, including Masters and PhD scholars, working on next-generation solutions.
Thales invests more than 4 billion euros annually in research and development worldwide. Bengaluru has emerged as a strategic hub for the company’s operations in India, with expertise spanning defence, aerospace, cybersecurity and digital technologies. The city’s robust innovation ecosystem and partnerships with leading academic institutions have played a key role in attracting further investment.
Speaking at the launch, Priyank Kharge said Karnataka continues to strengthen its standing as a global technology hub, adding that Thales’s expanded R&D presence aligns with India’s self-reliance goals and will drive advancements in AI and cybersecurity for both the state and the country.
Marc Lamy described the launch as a significant milestone in Thales’s India journey, highlighting the company as a symbol of French technological excellence and a strong contributor to India’s industrial and technological growth under the ‘Make in India’ initiative.
Bernhard Quendt said the new centre marks a key step in Thales’s global R&D strategy and reinforces India’s position as a major innovation hub for the group. He noted that the lab will accelerate breakthroughs in high-performance embedded software, embedded AI, cybersecurity and future connectivity to address the evolving demands of critical systems.
Ankur Kanaglekar said Thales has been a partner in India’s development for over seven decades and that the Bengaluru centre will further strengthen the company’s commitment to “Make in India, Innovate in India and Export from India”, while deepening collaboration across the local innovation ecosystem.
The establishment of Thales Research & Technology India signals a major expansion of the group’s innovation footprint in the country and reflects growing Indo-French cooperation in advanced technologies.
