GANDHINAGAR, INDIA -- Jabil today announced that it will open a new factory in Gujarat, its second in the country.

The announcement follows a memorandum of understanding signed last November, when the electronics manufacturing company began exploring long-term goals, opportunities and support with the state.

“We are proud to welcome Gujarat to the Jabil footprint, which totals over 100 sites in more than 25 countries worldwide," said Matt Crowley, executive vice president, Global Business Units, Jabil. "Today’s shifting business landscape has accelerated the need for enterprises to adapt to uncertainties and volatile market conditions. Given the diversity of our business and the connected systems powering our network of factories around the globe, this strategic expansion is an example of how Jabil is well positioned to navigate and implement solutions that best serve the needs of our customers."

This announcement coincides with a new Jabil MoU signing with the state government, which also took place today, during the opening of the Gujarat SemiConnect IESA Vision Summit event held in Gandhinagar. In the short-term, both the company and state will explore the option of building a post-wafer fabrication silicon photonics facility that will incorporate advanced co-packaged optics capabilities.

The MoU signing took place in the presence of Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel, who said, “This is an exciting moment for Gujarat. As a crucial anchor investor, Jabil’s presence in the state will not only lead to job creation for the next generation of talent, but its highly-regarded photonics capabilities will facilitate the development of a domestic semiconductor industry, leading to greater innovation and increase our competitiveness for the future.”

Jabil has been a player in the photonics space for more than a decade. Besides new product introduction, the Jabil team has years of experience in designing photonics devices and systems, developing amplifiers, transceivers, and laser packages, as well as developing optical networking products such as ROADMs and optical switches. Jabil provides both prototyping and large-scale manufacturing services — reducing time to market for photonics solutions in telecommunication, data communications, and artificial intelligence (AI) applications.