India's efforts to establish itself in next-generation electronics manufacturing have taken a major step forward, as QWR Interactive Solutions and Kaynes Technology announced plans for what they call the country's first integrated waveguide-and-XR device manufacturing hub.
The collaboration marks India's transition from component-level XR optics production, as seen in Kaynes' earlier partnership with US-based DigiLens, to full-stack XR device manufacturing that includes waveguides, headsets, and smart glasses.
If executed at scale, the collaboration could make India one of the few locations outside China combining waveguide production with end-to-end XR device assembly.
From optics to end-to-end design and manufacturing
According to Suraj Aiar, founder and CEO of QWR Interactive Solutions, QWR is an Independent Design House (IDH) contributing proprietary Industrial Design, Manufacturing SOP, CMF Research, Machine Calibration Protocols, and more.
"Key products like VRone Pro, VRone Edu, and HUMBL AI Glasses are fully developed in-house, while select components (e.g., optical system, display assemblies, certain algorithms for spatial positioning, hand tracking, etc.) are currently sourced or co-developed with partners," Aiar said, adding that the company's differentiator lies in "technology know-how, design ownership, manufacturing expertise, and systems integration, enabling tight control over quality, consistency, and long-term product evolution."
He added that the partnership with Kaynes represents a strategic leap from Kaynes' earlier collaboration with DigiLens, which was primarily focused on waveguide assembly and Electronics Manufacturing Services (EMS)-level handling of optical components. In contrast, the QWR–Kaynes collaboration is full-stack by design, embedding waveguide development into the broader scope of XR device manufacturing and integration.
"With QWR as the IDH and technology owner," he continued, "the focus is not just on optics but on end-to-end headset design and manufacturing at scale."
Building scale in Mysuru and exporting from India
All of QWR's current and upcoming XR headsets are slated for production at Kaynes Technology's facility in Mysuru. The company plans to manufacture between 50,000 and 80,000 units in the first year while simultaneously training its workforce and enhancing production infrastructure to scale up for future product lines.
Aiar acknowledged that localizing XR manufacturing in India remains challenging. "The challenge is to find partners who believe in the vision/future of head-worn computers. We are proud that we have finally found a partner who is willing to take the long bet on this industry and drive adoption alongside us. The objective is to localize everything possible, but it's slow progress with difficult challenges to overcome."
QWR has been serving this market for over eight years, including sectors like enterprise education, healthcare, and defense. The company has shipped to over 17 countries and plans to scale that further with this partnership.
"India remains the launch market, but exports are integral to volume scale from the outset. Original Design Manufacturer (ODM)/white-label XR deals are also being explored for foreign Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) using Production-Linked Incentive (PLI) in the future," Aiar added.
Policy alignment and long-term vision
QWR says the initiative aligns with the India Semiconductor Mission and Electronics System Design and Manufacturing (ESDM) goals and intends to leverage applicable PLI and Electronics Manufacturing Clusters (EMC) 2.0 programs.
The companies aim to create over 1,000 skilled jobs by 2027. This will include optical calibration engineers, Surface-Mount Technology (SMT) and cleanroom operators, Design for Assembly (DFA) and CMF engineers, and XR/Artificial Intelligence (AI) embedded firmware developers.
QWR and Kaynes plan to build talent via ESDM skilling partnerships, in-house certification programs, and university tie-ups for frontier tech (AR/AI hardware), Aiar added.
By 2030, Aiar envisions India as a full-stack XR hardware hub with end-to-end manufacturing of XR devices, including waveguides, optics, and AI glasses.
"The goal is to achieve export-grade quality at a 10–15% cost advantage over China, backed by Indian-owned Intellectual Property (IP) across the stack. This ecosystem will serve both domestic and international markets, making India a credible alternative in the global XR hardware supply chain."
Implications for global electronics and semiconductor ecosystems
The QWR–Kaynes partnership underscores India's strategy of climbing the semiconductor-adjacent value chain by focusing on optics, displays, and device integration, all of which are segments that demand precision manufacturing but lower initial capital than wafer fabs.
For global OEMs, the collaboration could introduce a China+1 option in the emerging XR market, combining India's design capability with Kaynes' electronics manufacturing expertise.
While localization of materials and optical components remains a challenge, QWR's move from design to integrated production suggests India is building momentum toward becoming a full-stack manufacturing hub for next-generation computing hardware.
Article edited by Jerry Chen
