Global co-creation community backed by GE Appliances gives designers, engineers and innovators a place to bring big ideas to life
GE Appliance’s FirstBuild signed an agreement with the state of Telangana and T-Works to establish FirstBuild India at T-Works. This is in continuation to the agreement signed in December last year where both sides created a task force to work out the details.
This marks the beginning of a new partnership between the state of Telangana, T-Works, India’s largest prototyping centre and makerspace and FirstBuild, a global co-creating community backed by GE Appliances, a Haier company. The partnership begins with the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) in the presence of Sri K.T. Rama Rao, the Honorable Minister for Information Technology for the state of Telangana, and Melanie Cook, Chief Operating Officer for GE Appliances. The MOU, signed by Sujai Karampuri, Chief Executive Officer of T-Works, where FirstBuild will be located, and Chandramouli Vijjhala, Chief Information Officer for GE Appliances India, is aimed at bringing smart products and appliances to market faster through open product innovation that engages India’s growing maker community.
FirstBuild has already engaged thousands of makers in person and online to invent a new world of appliances. The new location in India further strengthens the FirstBuild community by creating a place for the country’s greatest designers, engineers and innovators to develop working prototypes, measure market feasibility, and then build and deliver innovations for the home.
“FirstBuild entities have harnessed community insights and the power of the maker movement to change how products come to market around the world,” Cook said. “The new creative center is one of a kind in the Hyderabad region where budding creators will find an open community focused on building a new generation of appliances that transform the home. As the country’s largest makerspace, T-Works is the ideal location for FirstBuild India to begin its journey.”
The FirstBuild location in India joins other makerspaces in Louisville, Kentucky, which opened in 2014, and in Shanghai, China, which opened in 2017. All locations share a mission to create a socially engaged community of home enthusiasts focused on the next great idea. By letting the community influence the product from the very beginning, FirstBuild quickly delivers products that consumers want.
